Posted by Jost on July 1, 2006, at 12:56:52
In reply to Mechanism of action of flexeril?, posted by ravenstorm on July 1, 2006, at 9:17:54
The mechanism of action of flexeril (cyclobenzoprine) isn't fully understood, I think. It's "centrally acting"--ie within the central nervous system--not peripheral.
I located this abstract, which hazards a theory:
Commissiong JW, Karoum F, Reiffenstein RJ, Neff NH.
".....In the ventral horn of the cord, which receives a dense noradrenergic innervation from the locus coeruleus, CBZ caused an increase in the metabolism of noradrenaline. In the zona intermedia of the thoracic cord, which is not innervated by the locus coeruleus, CBZ caused only minimal effects on noradrenaline metabolism. Cells in the locus coeruleus were activated by CBZ. The results indicate that... an intact, coerulospinal, noradrenergic projection is essential for the muscle relaxant effect of CBZ. Muscle relaxation apparently results from an activation of locus coeruleus neurones, leading to an increased release of noradrenaline in the ventral horn of the cord and the subsequent inhibitory action of noradrenaline on alpha motoneurones."
(I took out some specifics about the animal experiements, which some people might find upsettting and aren't central to the point. )
I've used both flexeril and carisoprodol (soma) and found soma better, because sometimes flexeril caused me to feel a little depressed the next day.
Also, an important note: you can't take flexeril with an MAOI, but carisoprodol is okay.
Jost
poster:Jost
thread:663216
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060701/msgs/663257.html