Stigmine refers to a class of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
Examples include:
| Drug | Primary use |
|---|---|
| Physostigmine | Anticholinergic poisoning, glaucoma |
| Neostigmine | Reversal of neuromuscular blockade, myasthenia gravis |
| Pyridostigmine | Myasthenia gravis |
| Distigmine | Urinary retention, myasthenia gravis |
| Rivastigmine | Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia |
Stigmines are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors that increase the concentration of acetylcholine at cholinergic synapses by inhibiting its enzymatic breakdown. As a result, they enhance cholinergic neurotransmission at neuromuscular junctions and other cholinergic sites in the body.
Various stigmine derivatives are used in medicine. Pyridostigmine and neostigmine are commonly used in the treatment of myasthenia gravis, while neostigmine is also used to reverse non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockade after surgery. Rivastigmine is used in the treatment of dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
The name "stigmine" is derived from physostigmine, a naturally occurring acetylcholinesterase inhibitor isolated from the Calabar bean (Physostigma venenosum). Later synthetic and semisynthetic acetylcholinesterase inhibitors adopted the suffix "-stigmine", leading to names such as neostigmine, pyridostigmine, and distigmine.