ABSTRACT
Nausea and vomiting are demeaning, reduce patients' quality of life, and may affect compliance with therapy. Nausea may also be reported in patients with progressive neurological diseases such as central nervous diseases, peripheral nervous diseases, dysfunction of neuromuscular junction, and muscle diseases. Serotonin receptors, both central and peripheral, are particularly important in the pathophysiology of acute emesis, and drugs that inhibit this group of receptors are the cornerstone of the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting. In patients with neurological diseases such as diabetic neuropathy, or with advanced cancer, autonomic failure occurs with gastroparesis, nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is one of the most feared effects of cancer treatment and is associated with a significant deterioration in quality of life. Antiemetic drugs are commonly grouped into five categories, including prokinetic agents, dopamine antagonists, antihistamines, anticholinergics, and serotonin antagonists.
