Effects of sigma receptor ligands in mammalian myocardium

The history of natural as well as medical sciences is full of fascinating stories: some discoveries were caused by mistake and some were actually not firstly perceived as new findings. Discovery and detailed research of sigma receptors belong to such stories undoubtedly. It is a terminated tale - the endogenous ligand was discovered, even if most recently. On the contrary, still some tesseras are missing in this complicated mosaic which such new receptor system represents: it still remains unclear what is their primary role in biological systems and in their regulation. This review is focused on cardiovascular effects of typical representatives of sigma receptor ligands and at the same time clinically widely used antipsychotics haloperidol and perphenazine. Use (or even abuse) of various antipsychotics represents worldwide trend within last few decades and thus studies focused on their side effects become a high priority. Moreover, cardiovascular system disorders belong to the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the developed countries. A significant group of these disorders is represented by side effects of non cardiovascular drugs.

Autorentext

Katerina Fialova, doctora en medicina y doctorado: Estudió el programa de maestría y doctorado en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Masaryk de Brno (República Checa). Doctora y profesora adjunta en el Departamento de Fisiología de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Masaryk de Brno. Marie Novakova, M.D., Ph.D., Prof.: Vice Jefa del Departamento.