Effects of experimental diabetes on endothelin-induced ventricular arrhythmias in dogs.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is known to have a direct arrhythmogenic effect in the mammalian heart. Diabetes mellitus is accompanied by a series of endothelial and cardiac disfunctions; however, little is known about ET-1-induced direct arrhythmias in diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we infused ET-1 (33 pmol/min) into the left anterior descending coronary artery of 28 mongrel dogs, and measured basic hemodynamic parameters, coronary flow and an electrocardiogram.

Haemodynamic and metabolic effects of low daily dose sulphonylureas in diabetic dog hearts.

The effects of glibenclamide (GB, CAS 10238-21-8) and those of the latest low daily dose sulphonylurea compound, glimepiride (GM, CAS 93479-97-1) on myocardial haemodynamics and pyruvate-lactate metabolism of healthy and alloxan-diabetic dogs (n = 6 in six groups) were compared. Mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow of the left anterior descending coronary artery, myocardial contractile force, the rate of change of myocardial contraction and relaxation were measured and arterial (a. carotis communis) and venous (sinus coronarius) pyruvate and lactate concentrations were determined during i.

New trends in the development of oral antidiabetic drugs.

A large number of oral antidiabetic agents are available today. This article provides a short review of the pharmacology and some clinical aspects of various oral antidiabetic drugs. It focuses mainly on the newest developing drugs (therapy of the near future) and on the most commonly used older groups for the common approach of every-day practice (sulphonylureas).

The diabetic heart: A review of the lifework of Sophie Maria Koltai.

It is well known that cardiovascular alterations are the principal causes of mortality in patients with diabetes. Premature and accelerated atherosclerosis cannot be the sole cause of diabetic heart disease because functional disorders develop both in experimental and in clinical diabetes before the onset of the detectable morphological changes of the vessel wall. Namely, altered adrenergic responses and prostaglandin metabolism and diminished vasodilatory ability can be seen in diabetic vessels.