The International journal of neuroscience
-
Comparative Study
Effects of tramadol on nerve action potentials in rat: comparisons with benzocaine and lidocaine.
The effects of tramadol on repetitively elicited action potentials were studied in rat sciatic nerve, using the sucrose gap method. Tramadol's local anesthetic-like effects were compared with lidocaine and benzocaine at single or 10, 40, and 100 Hz stimulations. Tramadol and lidocaine both produced approximately the same level of conduction block. ⋯ However, their frequency-dependent block patterns were similar. It was concluded that tramadol may block the Na+ channels following the hydrophilic pathway like lidocaine and block K+ channels more than lidocaine. These may accounted for the local anesthetic-like effects of tramadol.