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The effect of prolonged treatment with oxyfedrine on intracellular potentials and on other features of cardiac function in rabbits and guinea‐pigs
Author(s) -
POLSTER P.,
WILLIAMS E. M. VAUGHAN
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1973.tb08316.x
Subject(s) - intracellular , guinea pig , medicine , pharmacology , cardiac function curve , function (biology) , cardiology , anesthesia , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , heart failure
Summary1 Previous work in acute experiments has shown that the main pharmacological action of oxyfedrine is stimulation of β‐adrenoceptors, yet there have been clinical reports that the drug is beneficial in the treatment of angina pectoris. 2 In the present experiments rabbits and guinea‐pigs were treated for several weeks with daily i.p. injections of oxyfedrine. 3 A daily dosage of 15 mg/kg oxyfedrine had no effect on growth rate for 4 weeks, but thereafter the growth rate of treated animals fell below that of controls. 4 The heart weights of the treated animals, expressed as a percentage of body weight, were significantly lower than those of controls. 5 Measurement of intracellular potentials in hearts taken from treated rabbits showed that the main effects were a reduction in the maximum rate of depolarization and a prolongation of the plateau of the action potential. 6 Guinea‐pigs treated for 6 weeks with 15 mg/kg oxyfedrine daily i.p. were protected to some extent from the toxic effect of ouabain infused intravenously.