study of chronic oral administration of verapamil on immunologic and hematologic parameters of male rats

introduction: verapamil, a phenylalkylamin –type ca 2+ channel blocker, is widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases . material and methods: in this study , the chronic effects of oral administration of the drug on hematologi and immunologic parameters of male wistar rats have been studied. verapamil was administered orally at dosages of 10,20,50 mg/kg for two months, while control rats received only distilled water. we studied leukocyte and erythrocyte counts by use of light microscopy. results: the lymphocyte counts were decreased (%10) in rats treated with 20,50 mg/kg of verapamil compared to control group. the monocyte counts were signifigantly increased (%5-8) at the end of treatment in the verapamil group. there were no significant differences in the body weight, total white and red blood cell counts ,and neutrophil count compared to control group. conclusion: these results should be taken into consideration in the chronic treatment of patients with verapamil and they suggest that immune parameters of such patients should be monitored during the treatment course.