Pentoxifylline

Category: pharmacological

Aliases: Trental

Pharmacological Mechanism

Methylxanthine — increases red blood cell flexibility, decreases blood viscosity, mild antiplatelet effect. Used for intermittent claudication symptoms (modest effect) and cutaneous ulcers (off-label for vasculitis).

Half-Life (t½)

PO: 1h

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 1200 mg (Range: 400–1200 mg)

Target Organ Systems

• integumentary
• immune-hematologic

Pathways It Modulates

• Adenosine receptor signaling (inhibitor) — A1 + A2A weak; primarily PDE inhibitor (rheology in claudication)
• cAMP / PKA second-messenger signaling (inhibitor) — PDE (non-selective)
• Platelet aggregation (inhibitor) — PDE (non-selective) + RBC deformability

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 4740
• Formula: C13H18N4O3
• Molecular weight: 278.31 g/mol
• InChIKey: BYPFEZZEUUWMEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
• SMILES: CC(=O)CCCCN1C(=O)C2=C(N=CN2C)N(C1=O)C

References

• PMID 10478991