Possibilities of Pharmacological Preconditioning

Abstract

The review is devoted to the experimental and clinical data analysis about the effectiveness of preconditioning as a method of organism’s tolerance development to ischemia/hypoxia. Characteristics of the trigger, signaling and effector stages of the preconditioning mechanism are described. Medicinal agents which can stimulate processes of endogenous metabolic adaptation are discussed. As is shown in the review the role of inducers of preconditioning can play drugs from different pharmacological groups: adenosine receptor agonists, some agents for inhalation anesthesia, potassium channel activators, opioid analgesics, antagonists of excitatory amino acids, inducers of transcription factors, drugs of erythropoietin, inhibitors of the mitochondrial pore, bioflavonoids, drugs with antihypoxic action. Examples of successful preconditioning with help of pharmacological agents are presented. The prospects of pharmacological preconditioning usage in cerebral ischemia and myocardial infarction are discussed in the article.