Muscarinic receptor agonists and antagonists

A comprehensive review of pharmacological and medical aspects of the muscar inic class of acetylcholine agonists and antagonists is presented. The ther apeutic benefits of achieving receptor subtype selectivity are outlined and applications in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease are discussed. A sele ction of chemical routes are described, which illustrate contemporary metho dology for the synthesis of chiral medicinal compounds (asymmetric synthesi s, chiral pool, enzymes). Routes to bicyclic intrannular amines and intramo lecular Diels-Alder reactions are highlighted.