[Possible mechanism of long-term anti-arrhythmia and local anesthetic effect of quaternary ammonium compounds].

In experiments with dialized neurons of L. stagnalis mollusc the recovery of Na-current (INa) after its depression by local anesthetic trimecaine and its quaternary derivative N-ethyltrimecaine (G-88) was studied. A full recovery of INa within tens of seconds after washing off trimecaine but not G-88 was observed. The half-time for vanishing of INa use-dependent depression by G-88 was 17 minutes, and there was no substantial vanishing of tonic INa block even after an hour of G-88 washing off. A hypothesis is advanced that the long recovery time of INa is one of the mechanisms providing long pharmacological action of quaternary antiarrhythmic and local anesthetic ammonium compounds.