During the past five years ganglion-blocking agents have been used extensively in the treatment of arterial hypertension. The discovery of the activity of hexamethonium by Paton and Zaimis (1949) placed at our disposal an active therapeutic agent capable of producing a substantial reduction in the blood pressure. Subsequent research has been directed to the synthesis of new drugs offering advan...

The heart contains superficial cardiac nerves whose effects may be modulated by pericardial fluid bathing the epicardium. We tested this hypothesis in open-chest dogs anesthetized with secobarbital. Oxygenated normal Tyrode's solution (NT) or NT containing hexamethonium, a ganglionic blocker (500 microM), or tetrodotoxin, a blocker of axonal neurotransmission (5 microM, TTX), was instilled into...

The mechanism underlying interorgan preconditioning of the heart remains elusive, although a role for adenosine and activation of a neurogenic pathway has been postulated. We tested in rats the hypothesis that adenosine released by the remote ischemic organ stimulates local afferent nerves, which leads to activation of myocardial adenosine receptors. Preconditioning with a 15-min mesenteric art...

The effects of neuromuscular blocking concentrations of hexamethomum and decamethonium on end-plate current parameters have been studied in frog sartorius nervemuscle preparations. In the presence of either drug, hyperpolarization of the cell membrane reduces the peak amplitude of the end-plate current despite the increase in driving force. The effect is larger for hexamethonium than for decame...

The study was designed to investigate the nature of the cholinoceptors at the sciatic nerve-gastrocnemius muscle junction of the common African toad (Bufo regularis). Using myographic technique, the twitch properties of the sciatic-gastrocnemius muscle preparation of the common African toad was studied. Both the twitch height and peak tetanic height were measured as a percentage of control. Hex...

Vol. 176, No. Printed in (I.S.A ASGHAR. KHURSHEED AND LLOYD J. Ro’rH: Distribution of hexamethonium and other (luaternary anhIlloIliufli compounds in (alt ilage. .J. Pliarmacol. Ex1). Ther. 176: 83-92. 1971. N-methyl-C’4and H3-labeled hexamethonium was administered to rats and mice in a dose of 10 to 30 mg/kg. Tissue sections for whole body and cellular autoradiography were cut from animals sac...

To extend our knowledge of the pharmacological profile of human a4b2 neuronal nicotinic receptors, we investigated the action of hexamethonium on the major brain human nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) stably expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. This compound displays all of the characteristics of an open-channel blocker at the human a4b2 nAChR: a voltage-dependent inhibition (...

ONE of the few observations made in hypertension upon which there is almost universal agreement is the increased response of the blood pressure to pressor drugs. It is found in nearly all types of hypertension, both experimentally and clinical.>9 Nevertheless, the mechanisms responsible for it have not been adequately investigated. I have studied the vascular reactivity in rabbits, comparing th...