Ka. Jacobson et al., ADENOSINE RECEPTOR LIGANDS - DIFFERENCES WITH ACUTE VERSUS CHRONIC TREATMENT, Trends in pharmacological sciences, 17(3), 1996, pp. 108-113
Adenosine receptors have been the target of intense research with resp
ect to potential use of selective ligands in a variety of therapeutic
areas. Caffeine and theophylline are adenosine receptor antagonists, a
nd over the past three decades a wide range of selective agonists and
antagonists for adenosine receptor subtypes have been developed. A com
plication to the therapeutic use of adenosine receptor ligands is the
observation that the effects of acute administration of a particular l
igand can be diametrically opposite to the chronic effects of the same
ligand. This 'effect inversion' is discussed here by Ken Jacobson and
colleagues, and has been observed for effects on cognitive processes,
seizures and ischaemic damage.