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Naloxone does not antagonize the antihypertensive effect of clonidine in essential hypertension
Author(s) -
Rogers John F,
Cubeddu Luigi X
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1038/clpt.1983.131
Subject(s) - clonidine , supine position , (+) naloxone , medicine , essential hypertension , blood pressure , anesthesia , heart rate , opioid , receptor
Reports on spontaneously hypertensive rats suggested that naloxone blocked the antihypertensive effects of clonidine. We compared the effects of an 8‐hr intravenous naloxone infusion (6 μg/kg/hr) or 5% dextrose in water (D5/W) begun 2 hr before single oral doses of clonidine (0.3 mg) in six men with mild to moderate essential hypertension (EHT). Supine and standing (after 5 min) blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measured every 20 min. Initial treatment with naloxone or placebo (D5/W) infusion was randomly allocated, with the alternate treatment given 1 wk later. Naloxone did not modify either supine or standing BP or HR. Clonidine induced a gradual, sustained reduction in both supine and standing systolic and diastolic BP and in supine HR, and there was an increase in standing HR. Naloxone did not modify the onset, maximal effect, or recovery of the hypotensive and HR effects of clonidine in both the supine and standing positions. Our data indicate that hypotensive and bradycardiac effects of clonidine in EHT are not mediated by naloxone‐sensitive opioid receptors. They also suggest that opioid receptors play no role in the maintenance of hypertension nor in the BP and HR adjustments induced by postural changes in EHT. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1983) 34, 68–73; doi: 10.1038/clpt.1983.131