Cholinergic Crisis Research Paper

A cholinergic crisis defines the condition of accumulating excess levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the neuromuscular junctions and synaptic gaps throughout the body and central nervous system. This results in overstimulation of many organs and glands including the parasympathetic nervous system. The main etiology is acetylcholinesterase inhibition, the enzyme that rapidly breaks down acetylcholine after it is released.
Cholinergic crisis results from an overdose of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors causing profound weakness due to continuous depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane, which in turn results in a depolarizing type of neuromuscular blockade; cholinergic crisis may develop secondary to drug overdose, such as anticholinesterase