Pyridostigmine
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| Trade names | Mestinon, others |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
| MedlinePlus | a682229 |
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by mouth, intravenous |
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| Pharmacokinetic data | |
| Bioavailability | 7.6 +/- 2.4% |
| Biological half-life | 1.78 +/- 0.24hrs |
| Excretion | kidney |
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| Formula | C9H13N2O2 |
| Molar mass | 181.212 g/mol |
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Pyridostigmine is medication used to treat myasthenia gravis. It is also used together with atropine to end the effects of neuromuscular blocking medication of the non-depolarizing type. It is typically given by mouth but can also be used by injection. The effects generally begin within 45 minutes and last up to 6 hours.
Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, frequent urination, and abdominal pain. More severe side effects include low blood pressure, weakness, and allergic reactions. It is unclear if use in pregnancy is safe for the baby. Pyridostigmine is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor in the cholinergic family of medications. It works by blocking the action of acetylcholinesterase and therefore increases the levels of acetylcholine.
Pyridostigmine was patented in 1945 and came into medical use in 1955. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. Pyridostigmine is available as a generic medication. The wholesale cost in the developing world is about 7.17 to 65.93 USD a month. In the United States it costs about 25 to 50 USD per month.
Pyridostigmine is used to treat muscle weakness in people with myasthenia gravis or forms of congenital myasthenic syndrome and to combat the effects of curariform drug toxicity. Pyridostigmine bromide has been FDA approved for military use during combat situations as an agent to be given prior to exposure to the nerve agent soman in order to increase survival. Used in particular during the first Gulf War, pyridostigmine bromide has been implicated as a causal factor in Gulf War syndrome.
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