Open AccessEffects of Nicardipine on Collar‐induced Intimal Thickening and Vascular Reactivity in the Rabbit
Author(s) -
KERRY ZELIHA,
YASA MUKADDER,
AKPINAR RIYAD,
SEVIN GÜLNUR,
YETIK GÜNAY,
TOSUN METINER,
ÖZDEMIR NECMETTIN,
ERHAN YILDIZ,
ÜSTÜNES LEVENT,
ÖZER ASLI
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 2042-7158
pISSN - 0022-3573
DOI - 10.1211/0022357991772493
Subject(s) - nicardipine , phenylephrine , medicine , endocrinology , anatomy , chemistry , cardiology , anesthesia , calcium , blood pressure
The effects of nicardipine treatment on collar‐induced intimal thickening and on accompanying reactivity changes in rabbit carotid artery have been investigated. Treatment for three weeks with subcutaneous nicardipine (20 mg kg −1 per day) significantly inhibited the intimal thickening caused by perivascular application of a silicone rubber collar. Potassium chloride (KCl), phenylephrine and 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) induced concentration‐dependent contractions in both sham‐operated and collared arteries. Collar‐induced attenuation of maximum KCl‐, phenylephrine‐ and 5‐HT‐induced contraction was not affected by nicardipine. Collaring caused the means of pD 2 values (the negative logarithm of EC50 values, 50% effective concentration) of 5‐HT and phenylephrine to increase and decrease, respectively. Nicardipine did not affect the altered sensitivity to these agonists. Neither collar implantation nor nicardipine treatment altered the pD 2 values for acetylcholine‐ and nitroglycerine‐induced relaxations. These results demonstrate that nicardipine inhibits collar‐induced intimal thickening in rabbit carotid artery without affecting the accompanying changes in vascular reactivity, indicating a possible lack of association between the development of intimal thickening and altered reactivity.