SAME SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VERAPAMIL AND THE DIHYDROPYRIDINES

Groups of calcium channel blockers The calcium channel blockers compri se a heterogeneous group of drugs. From both pharmacological and clini cal points of view, they can be divided into three groups: the dihydro pyridines, the phenylalkylamines and the benzothiazepines. Reasons for differences There are important clinical and functional differences b etween the three groups. This may be explained by the fact that these families bind at different sites to the calcium channel. In this revie w, the major differences between the three groups are discussed, with an emphasis on verapamil. (C) 1998 Rapid Science Ltd.