What is the prototype drug for phosphodiesterase inhibitors? is it milrinone?

25 Oct 2011

No, it was caffeine.

Henry Hyde Salter in 1886 an asthmatic noted that when he drank a strong cup of coffee on an empty stomach, his breathing eased, an effect attributed to the bronchodilator properties of caffeine. Although the mechanism of action at the time was unknown, it has since been shown that caffeine was acting as a non-selective, albeit weak, PDE inhibitor. Subsequently, analogues of caffeine including theophylline were successfully introduced as treatments for airway disease.

There are now 7 sub classes of PDE inhibitors - drugs in each class work in slightly different ways and are used to treat various conditions.