The local anesthetic effect of cyproheptadine on mammalian nerve fibres.

The local anesthetic effect of cyproheptadine on nerve fibres in the rabbit's cervical vagus and sciatic nerve was studied by the single sucrose-gap technique. Local anesthetics such as procaine and tetracaine, and an antihistaminic with local anesthetic activity, diphenhydramine, were studied for comparison. Increasing concentrations of cypropheptadine, starting from 5 x 10(-5) M, produced a dose-related fall in the amplitude of the compound action potential of the vagus nerve without significant change in the resting membrane potential. A complete reversibility of the local anesthetic effect was difficult or impossible to obtain when doses greater than 1 x 10(-4) M were used. Cyproheptadine was more potent than procaine and diphenhydramine, and less potent than tetracaine in producing nerve conduction block. Frequency-dependent block was observed with cyproheptadine and the other agents at frequencies that can be considered low (1--5 Hz). Myelinated fibres of the sciatic nerves were also blocked by cyproheptadine within the same range of concentrations (1 x 10(-4) to 1 x 10(-3) M). Our results provide an additional explanation for the mechanism underlying the actions of cyproheptadine as an antiarrhythmic and an antipruritic agent.