chemistry

Procyclidine

Procyclidine is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Procyclidine rather than just read about it. In short: Procyclidine is an anticholinergic drug principally used for the treatment of drug-induced parkinsonism, akathisia and acute dystonia, Parkinson's disease, and idiopathic or secondary dystonia. Medical uses It is used in patients with parkinsonism and akathisia, and to reduce the side effects of antipsychotic treatment given for schizophrenia.

Key takeaways

Procyclidine belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Procyclidine to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Procyclidine from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Procyclidine is an anticholinergic drug principally used for the treatment of drug-induced parkinsonism, akathisia and acute dystonia, Parkinson's disease, and idiopathic or secondary dystonia.

Medical uses It is used in patients with parkinsonism and akathisia, and to reduce the side effects of antipsychotic treatment given for schizophrenia. Procyclidine is also a second-line drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. It improves tremor but not rigidity or bradykinesia. Procyclidine is also sometimes used for the treatment of dystonia (but not tardive dyskinesia), a rare disorder that causes abnormal muscle contraction, resulting in twisting postures of limbs, trunk, or face.

Side effects Side effects include nausea, constipation, urinary retention, blurred vision, anxiety, cognitive impairment, confusion, dizziness, gingivitis, hallucination, memory loss, rash and vomiting.

Overdose Signs of procyclidine overdose are those of an anticholinergic and include confusion, agitation and sleeplessness that can last up to or more than 24 hours. Pupils become dilated and unreactive to light. Tachycardia (fast heart beat), as well as auditory and visual hallucinations have also been reported. Other known symptoms of overdose are: clumsiness or unsteadiness, being severely drowsy, having a severely dry mouth, nose, or throat, having an altered mood or other mental changes, seizures, being short of breath or having troubled breathing, a dry and warm, flushed skin. A suspected overdose with severe life-threatening symptoms should immediately be brought to medical attention, where reversal can be attempted with physostigmine administered intravenously or subcutaneously.

Pharmacology

Pharmacodynamics Procyclidine is an anticholinergic. It is specifically an antimuscarinic. The drug acts as a non-selective antagonist of the muscarinic acetylcholine M1, M2, and M4 receptors, whereas its activities at the M3 and M5 receptors are reportedly unknown.

Chemistry

Synthesis

Procyclidine, 1-cyclohexyl-1-phenyl-3-pyrrolidinopropan-1-ol, is synthesized in exactly the same manner as was seen for trihexyphenidyl, except this time the linear synthesis begins with the preparation of 3-(1-pyrrolidino)propiophenone.

In an interesting variation, the ketone is first reacted with phenylmagnesium bromide. Catalytic hydrogenation of the carbinol thus obtained can be stopped after the reduction of only one aromatic ring.

Morton method: The Reformatsky reaction between Cyclohexyl phenyl ketone (BzCy) [712-50-5] (1) and Ethyl Bromoacetate [105-36-2] (2) gives ethyl 3-cyclohexyl-3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoate, PC12565684 (3). The reduction of the ester gives 1-cyclohexyl-1-phenylpropane-1,3-diol, PC13841193 (4). FGI of the primary alcohol to the Tosyl leaving group gives 3-Cyclohexyl-3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonate [102473-43-8] (5). Alkylation with pyrrolidine [123-75-1] completes the synthesis of procyclidine.

See also Benzatropine Biperiden Cycrimine

References

Further reading British National Formulary (45 ed.). March 2003.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Procyclidine

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Procyclidine claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Procyclidine before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Procyclidine ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Procyclidine

In research: Procyclidine appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Procyclidine in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Procyclidine is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1-Pyrrolidinyl compounds, Cyclohexyl compounds, Hydrochlorides, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Procyclidine outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Procyclidine in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Procyclidine means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Procyclidine out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Procyclidine in simple terms?

Procyclidine is an anticholinergic drug principally used for the treatment of drug-induced parkinsonism, akathisia and acute dystonia, Parkinson's disease, and idiopathic or secondary dystonia. Medical uses It is used in patients with parkinsonism and akathisia, and to reduce the side effects of an…

Why does Procyclidine matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Procyclidine?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Procyclidine.