[Pharmacological comparison of the CNS effects of propentofylline and caffeine]

The CNS effects of propentofylline and caffeine, methylxanthine derivatives, were compared. In mice, caffeine antagonized diazepam-induced muscle relaxation and the inhibitory effect of diazepam against pentylenetetrazole-induced convulsions, but propentofylline did not. In spinal cats, the dorsal root reflex potentials were inhibited by caffeine but not affected by propentofylline, and the monosynaptic reflex potentials were increased by propentofylline but not influenced by caffeine. The results indicate that propentofylline differs from caffeine in that it neither antagonizes diazepam nor affects the GABA system.