What is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor?
I’ll break it down from most complicated to simplest… Organophosphates act by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase. But that means organophosphates disable the enzyme that removes acetylcholine from its neuron receptor site. Acetylcholine (Ach) is a chemical in the brain that stimulates nerve cells. Like pushing a button to turn on a light. A special enzyme called acetylcholinesterase removes acetylcholine from its site on the nerve cell. It stops the button from being pushed. When you can’t stop the button from being pushed, the light stays on nd eventaully burns out. Likewise, if you leave Ach in its receptor site too long, the nerve gets overstimulated and eventually burns out. So because the nerves are getting overstimulated, it’s turning on various switches in the body like muscles, breathing (and memory, sweating, salivation, balance and other functions).
