The key difference between cholinergic and anticholinergic is that cholinergic agents mimic the action of acetylcholine whereas anticholinergic agents block the action of acetylcholine.
Acetylcholine is an organic compound. It functions as a neurotransmitter in the brain and body of many animals and humans. It is important in sending chemical messages between cells, neurons and among other cells such as muscle cells and gland cells. Both cholinergic and anticholinergic are related to acetylcholine. These refer to chemical agents that can regulate the neurochemical message transfer between neurons and cells.
CONTENT
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Cholinergic
3. What is Anticholinergic
4. Side by Side Comparison – Cholinergic vs Anticholinergic in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Cholinergic?
Cholinergic agents are chemical compounds that can mimic the function of acetylcholine. These agents can mimic the function of butyrylcholine as well. “choline” is a component of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The parasympathetic nervous system is said to be entirely cholinergic because it uses acetylcholine almost exclusively to send messages between cells and targets. In addition, neuromuscular junctions and preganglionic neurons of the sympathetic nervous system are cholinergic. The receptors of merocrine sweat glands are also cholinergic.
Figure 01: A Cholinergic Substance
A substance or a ligand that can produce, alter or release acetylcholine or butyrylcholine are also named as cholinergic agents. Further, if a receptor or a synapse uses acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter, they are also named as cholinergic agents.
What is Anticholinergic?
Anticholinergic agents are substances that can block the action of acetylcholine. This blocking occurs mainly at the synapse in the central and peripheral nervous system. These agents can selectively block the binding of acetylcholine with receptors in nerve cells of the peripheral nervous system. There are three types of anticholinergic agents:
- Antimuscarinic blockers
- Ganglionic blockers
- Neuromuscular blockers
Figure 02: Chemical Structure of Acetylcholine
Anticholinergic drugs are very important in the field of medicine to treat various diseases such as dizziness, extrapyramidal symptoms, gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia, respiratory disorders, etc. However, there are side effects of using this drug as well.
- Poor coordination
- Dementia
- Decreased mucus production in the nose and throat
- Dry mouth with increase dental caries
- Increased body temperature, etc.
What is the Difference Between Cholinergic and Anticholinergic?
The key difference between cholinergic and anticholinergic is that cholinergic agents mimic the action of acetylcholine, whereas anticholinergic agents block the action of acetylcholine. Moreover, cholinergic agents can act on parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, while anticholinergic agents act mainly on the central and peripheral nervous system. Besides, examples of cholinergic drugs include pilocarpine, physostigmine, etc. Meanwhile, examples of anticholinergic drugs include atropine, clidinium, Cogentin, etc.
The following infographic summarizes the difference between cholinergic and anticholinergic in a tabular form.
Summary – Cholinergic vs Anticholinergic
The terms cholinergic and anticholinergic refers to chemical agents that can regulate the neurochemical message transfer between neurons and cells. The key difference between cholinergic and anticholinergic is that cholinergic agents mimic the action of acetylcholine whereas anticholinergic agents block the action of acetylcholine. Cholinergic agents can act on parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems while anticholinergic agents act mainly on the central and peripheral nervous system.
Reference:
1. “Cholinergic Drug.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 26 July 2019, Available here.
2. “Cholinergic.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Dec. 2019, Available here.
3. “Anticholinergic.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Mar. 2020, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Acetylcholine” By Vectorization: OmenBreeze – Own work based on: Choline-skeletal.png by Benjah-bmm27. (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Choline-skeletal” By Harbin – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia