Acute effects of flosequinan (BTS 49465) in untreated moderate to severe hypertension.

Flosequinan (BTS 49465, 7-fluoro-1-methyl-3-methyl-sulphinyl-4-quinolone), a recently direct-acting vasodilator that should cause relatively less reflex tachycardia, was given in a single oral dose of 200 mg to 10 untreated patients with moderate to severe hypertension. Flosequinan caused a fall in blood pressure (BP) from 181/116 +/- 7/4 to 161/102 +/- 5/4 mm Hg (P < 0.05).

Adrenoceptors on blood cells from patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon.

1. alpha 2-Adrenoceptors on platelet membranes and beta 2-adrenoceptors on lymphocytes were studied in 24 patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon and in 24 age- and sex-matched control subjects. In two subgroups, a standardized mental arithmetic test and a finger-cooling test were performed.

Laser Doppler evaluation of skin vasomotor reflexes during sympathetic stimulation in normals and in patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon.

Laser Doppler flux measurements were used to determine skin blood flow in 12 patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon and in 12 healthy age and sex matched control subjects. The vasoconstrictor response to standing, the Valsalva maneuver and a deep breath were used to diagnose local abnormalities of peripheral nerve sympathetic function and were found normal together with a normal catecholamine response to standing upright. However, baseline laser Doppler measured skin blood flow was lower in patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon (p less than 0.

Vascular and humoral sympathetic nervous system reactivity during mental arithmetic in primary Raynaud's phenomenon.

To investigate the hypothesis of a sympathetic imbalance in the pathophysiology of digital vasospasms during stress we measured vascular and sympathetic nervous system reactivity during a standardized mental arithmetic test in 12 patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon in comparison to 12 healthy control subjects. Blood pressure, heart rate, forearm blood flow and fingertip laser Doppler flux were measured together with the venous concentrations of norepinephrine and epinephrine from the back of the hand before and during mental arithmetic in a climate room. No significant differences in circulatory or sympathetic reactivity were found between both groups except for fingertip skin circulation with a small decrease of laser Doppler flux (-11.

Postocclusive reactive hyperemia of fingertips, monitored by laser Doppler velocimetry in the diagnosis of Raynaud's phenomenon.

Measurement of laser Doppler flow on the fingertip was evaluated before and after occlusion of the fingerbase for 5 min by suprasystolic compression in normal control subjects and in patients with several types of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP). Baseline flow values differed significantly (P less than 0.002) between the 24 normals and the 29 primary Raynaud patients but there was a considerable overlap between the primary and the secondary Raynaud group.

Effects of isometric exercise on blood cell adrenoceptors in essential hypertension.

The effect of handgrip (HG) isometric exercise on plasma catecholamines, alpha 2-adrenoceptors on platelets and beta 2-adrenoceptors on lymphocytes was studied in normotensive subjects (NT) and essential hypertensive subjects (HT). Whereas systolic blood pressure (SBP) increases were similar in NT and HT subjects, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) increased more in the former group. Baseline values and changes in plasma epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) did not differ between both groups.

Adrenoceptors on blood cells in patients with essential hypertension before and after mental stress.

The effect of mental arithmetic (MA) on alpha 2- and beta 2-adrenoceptors on platelets and lymphocytes, respectively, and on plasma catecholamines was studied in normotensive (NT) and essential hypertensive (HT) subjects. There were no significant differences in responses of blood pressure, forearm blood flow (FBF) and heart rate to MA between the two groups. Baseline values and changes in adrenaline and noradrenaline levels during MA were similar in NT and HT.

Impaired vasodilation during long-term beta 1-selective beta-blockade in hypertensive patients.

In eight patients with essential hypertension the effect of 50 mg atenolol, once daily for 6 months, on vasodilation during epinephrine infusion and submaximal dynamic exercise was studied. The normal decrease of diastolic blood pressure during bicycle exercise, reflecting a decrease in total peripheral resistance not mediated by circulating epinephrine, disappeared during atenolol treatment. Low-dose infusion of epinephrine had no influence on systolic blood pressure both before and after atenolol.

Laser Doppler velocimetry of fingertips during heat provocation in normals and in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon.

Measurements of Laser Doppler flow were performed on the fingertip during heating in a group of normals and in a group of patients with different types of Raynaud's phenomenon. During heating a group of 24 normals was distinguished from a group of 29 primary Raynaud's patients. A group of 17 patients with secondary Raynaud's phenomenon due to scleroderma and 8 patients with arteriographically proven severe vascular occlusive disease of the fingers showed a significantly lower response in comparison to the two above-mentioned groups.