Effects of cycloprotobuxine-A on atrial fibrillation.
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AIM: To study the effects of cycloprotobuxine-A (Cyc-A) on atrial fibrillation. METHODS: Atrial fibrillations in vivo and in vitro were induced by arrhythmogenic drugs. Action potentials were measured by the standard microelectrode technique. RESULTS: Cyc-A, similar to or slightly stronger than amiodarone (Ami), decreased incidences of atrial fibrillation elicited by CaCl2-acetylcholine in mice and increased doses of aconitine, ouabain, or adrenaline to elicit atrial fibrillation in isolated guinea pig atria. Cyc-A 0.3-100 mumol.L-1 decreased the normal automaticity and 0.3-30 mumol.L-1 attenuated or almost abolished the isoprenaline-induced abnormal increase in automaticity in sinus nodal cells. In isolated left atria, Cyc-A 0.3-30 mumol.L-1 inhibited the abnormal rhythmic activity elicited by adrenaline, prolonged action potential duration (APD) and effective refractory period, and reduced excitability. At 3-30 mumol.L-1, Cyc-A also decreased the maximal velocity of depolarization (Vmax). Cyc-A antagonized the acetylcholine-induced shortening of APD. These electrophysiologic effects were similar to those of amiodarone, but Ami did not affect the Vmax. CONCLUSION: Cyc-A produces a protective effect against experimental atrial fibrillation via a prolongation of repolarization, a decease of automaticity, and an inhibition of excitability. (+info)
Retinal stimulates ATP hydrolysis by purified and reconstituted ABCR, the photoreceptor-specific ATP-binding cassette transporter responsible for Stargardt disease.
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Many substrates for P-glycoprotein, an ABC transporter that mediates multidrug resistance in mammalian cells, have been shown to stimulate its ATPase activity in vitro. In the present study, we used this property as a criterion to search for natural and artificial substrates and/or allosteric regulators of ABCR, the rod photoreceptor-specific ABC transporter responsible for Stargardt disease, an early onset macular degeneration. ABCR was immunoaffinity purified to apparent homogeneity from bovine rod outer segments and reconstituted into liposomes. All-trans-retinal, a candidate ligand, stimulates the ATPase activity of ABCR 3-4-fold, with a half-maximal effect at 10-15 microM. 11-cis- and 13-cis-retinal show similar activity. All-trans-retinal stimulates the ATPase activity of ABCR with Michaelis-Menten behavior indicative of simple noncooperative binding that is associated with a rate-limiting enzyme-substrate intermediate in the pathway of ATP hydrolysis. Among 37 structurally diverse non-retinoid compounds, including nine previously characterized substrates or sensitizers of P-glycoprotein, only four show significant ATPase stimulation when tested at 20 microM. The dose-response curves of these four compounds are indicative of multiple binding sites and/or modes of interaction with ABCR. Two of these compounds, amiodarone and digitonin, can act synergistically with all-trans-retinal, implying that they interact with a site or sites on ABCR different from the one with which all-trans-retinal interacts. Unlike retinal, amiodarone appears to interact with both free and ATP-bound ABCR. Together with clinical observations on Stargardt disease and the localization of ABCR to rod outer segment disc membranes, these data suggest that retinoids, and most likely retinal, are the natural substrates for transport by ABCR in rod outer segments. These observations have significant implications for understanding the visual cycle and the pathogenesis of Stargardt disease and for the identification of compounds that could modify the natural history of Stargardt disease or other retinopathies associated with impaired ABCR function. (+info)
Fetal tachycardias: management and outcome of 127 consecutive cases.
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OBJECTIVE: To review the management and outcome of fetal tachycardia, and to determine the problems encountered with various treatment protocols. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SUBJECTS: 127 consecutive fetuses with a tachycardia presenting between 1980 and 1996 to a single tertiary centre for fetal cardiology. The median gestational age at presentation was 32 weeks (range 18 to 42). RESULTS: 105 fetuses had a supraventricular tachycardia and 22 had atrial flutter. Overall, 52 fetuses were hydropic and 75 non-hydropic. Prenatal control of the tachycardia was achieved in 83% of treated non-hydropic fetuses compared with 66% of the treated hydropic fetuses. Digoxin monotherapy converted most (62%) of the treated non-hydropic fetuses, and 96% survived through the neonatal period. First line drug treatment for hydropic fetuses was more diverse, including digoxin (n = 5), digoxin plus verapamil (n = 14), and flecainide (n = 27). The response rates to these drugs were 20%, 57%, and 59%, respectively, confirming that digoxin monotherapy is a poor choice for the hydropic fetus. Response to flecainide was faster than to the other drugs. Direct fetal treatment was used in four fetuses, of whom two survived. Overall, 73% (n = 38) of the hydropic fetuses survived. Postnatally, 4% of the non-hydropic group had ECG evidence of pre-excitation, compared with 16% of the hydropic group; 57% of non-hydropic fetuses were treated with long term anti-arrhythmics compared with 79% of hydropic fetuses. CONCLUSIONS: Non-hydropic fetuses with tachycardias have a very good prognosis with transplacental treatment. Most arrhythmias associated with fetal hydrops can be controlled with transplacental treatment, but the mortality in this group is 27%. At present, there is no ideal treatment protocol for these fetuses and a large prospective multicentre trial is required to optimise treatment of both hydropic and non-hydropic fetuses. (+info)
Electrophysiologic effects of chronic amiodarone therapy and hypothyroidism, alone and in combination, on guinea pig ventricular myocytes.
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Amiodarone is a widely used antiarrhythmic drug, the mechanisms of action of which remain incompletely understood. Indirect evidence suggests that the class III properties of amiodarone may be mediated by cardiac antithyroid effects. We sought to determine whether the effects of chronic amiodarone on repolarization in guinea pig hearts can be attributed to an antithyroid action by studying the changes in dofetilide-sensitive rapid (IKr) and dofetilide-resistant slow (IKs) delayed rectifier currents, inward rectifier K+ current (IK1), and action potentials of ventricular myocytes from five groups of guinea pigs: control, hypothyroid, amiodarone-treated for 7 days, hypothyroid plus amiodarone, and vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide) treated. IKs was reduced by amiodarone (to 61% of control, P <.05, at 50 mV) but was more strongly reduced by hypothyroidism (to 35% of control, P <.01, 50 mV). Amiodarone significantly reduced IKr and IK1 (by 55 and 64% at 10 mV and -50 mV, respectively), which were unaffected by hypothyroidism. Amiodarone alone and hypothyroidism alone had similar action potential-prolonging actions. Hypothyroid animals treated with amiodarone showed a combination of ionic effects (strong IKs reduction, similar to hypothyroidism alone; reduced IKr and IK1, similar to amiodarone alone), along with action potential prolongation significantly greater than that caused by either intervention alone. We conclude that chronic amiodarone and hypothyroidism have different effects on ionic currents and that their combination prolongs action potential duration to a greater extent than either alone in guinea pig hearts, suggesting that the class III actions of amiodarone are not mediated by a cardiac hypothyroid state. (+info)
Amiodarone versus propafenone for conversion of chronic atrial fibrillation: results of a randomized, controlled study.
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OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of amiodarone and propafenone in the conversion of chronic atrial fibrillation in a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study. BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of amiodarone and propafenone in the treatment of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation has not been adequately studied. METHODS: One hundred one patients (48 men, mean age 64 +/- 9 years) with atrial fibrillation lasting >3 weeks participated in the study. Thirty-four patients received amiodarone (300 mg intravenously over 1 h, followed by 20 mg/kg over the next 24 h plus 600 mg orally, in three doses, for 1 week, then 400 mg/day orally, for three weeks), 32 received propafenone (2 mg/kg intravenously over 15 min, followed by 10 mg/kg over 24 h and then 450 mg/day orally, for one month) and the remaining 35 served as control subjects. All patients received digoxin and anticoagulant treatment as indicated (International Normalized Ratio 2 to 3). RESULTS: Conversion to sinus rhythm was achieved in 16 (47.05%) patients who received amiodarone, in 13 (40.62%) who received propafenone and in none of the control subjects (p < 0.001 for both groups vs. control subjects). Those who converted had smaller atria than those who did not and atrial fibrillation of shorter duration in both the amiodarone and propafenone groups. Treatment was discontinued in one patient of the propafenone group because of significant QRS widening. CONCLUSIONS: Amiodarone and propafenone appear to be safe and equally effective in the termination of chronic atrial fibrillation. Left atrial diameter and arrhythmia duration are independent predictors of conversion. (+info)
Effect of intravenous amiodarone on electrophysiologic variables and on the modes of termination of atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
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Atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT) associated with the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, sometimes terminates spontaneously, generally sustains and eventually becomes drug resistant. Amiodarone is a potent antiarrhythmic drug that is sometimes effective in patients with AVRT which is resistant to conventional antiarrhythmic drugs. However, systematic studies concerning the effects of amiodarone on AVRT have not been reported. This study evaluated the effects of intravenous amiodarone on electrophysiologic variables, and on the sites and the modes of termination of AVRT. Fifteen WPW patients were studied. Nine had overt, and 6 had concealed WPW syndrome. Measurements of electrophysiologic variables and the induction of AVRT were performed by atrial and/or ventricular programmed stimulations. Amiodarone was then administered at a dose of 5 mg/kg over 5 min. The effective refractory periods (ERP) of the atrial, atrioventricular node, ventricular and accessory pathway were increased significantly by amiodarone. The conduction times of all the components were significantly lengthened by amiodarone, except for the His-ventricular (HV) interval in concealed WPW patients. AVRT was induced in all patients, and was terminated by amiodarone in 12 of 13 patients with sustained AVRT. After amiodarone, AVRT was induced in 9 patients. Spontaneous termination was observed 11 times in 3 of the 9 patients in whom AVRT was still induced. In these cases, the modes and sites of termination were the same as during the baseline state. The ERPs and conduction times of all components of AVRT, except the HV interval, were significantly lengthened by amiodarone. Amiodarone is efficacious for terminating AVRT wherever weak links exist. However, sites of spontaneous termination are not significantly affected by amiodarone. (+info)
Comparison of sotalol with amiodarone for long-term treatment of spontaneous sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmia based on coronary artery disease.
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AIM: To compare the efficacy of sotalol versus amiodarone for long-term treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmias. METHODS: Patients (n=75) with spontaneous, sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmias secondary to remote myocardial infarction were studied. After intravenous electrophysiological testing, both sotalol and amiodarone were predicted to be ineffective in 50 (67%) patients. Five patients were excluded. Forty-five patients were randomized to receive sotalol (n=22) or amiodarone (n=23) for maintenance therapy. The primary outcome variable was the time to first recurrence of sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmia. RESULTS: At 36 months. 75% of those allocated sotalol remained free of ventricular tachyarrhythmia compared with 38% of those allocated amiodarone (P=0.05). On multivariate analysis the risk of recurrence of ventricular tachyarrhythmia for patients on amiodarone was 5.9 times higher (P=0.008) than that for patients on sotalol. CONCLUSION: Sotalol is superior to amiodarone for long-term treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmia secondary to coronary artery disease when both drugs have been predicted to be ineffective at intravenous electrophysiological testing. Randomized trials in larger numbers of patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmia need to be performed comparing the two agents directly. (+info)
Amiodarone compared with iodine exhibits a potent and persistent inhibitory effect on TSH-stimulated cAMP production in vitro: a possible mechanism to explain amiodarone-induced hypothyroidism.
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Amiodarone (AMD) is a powerful anti-arrhythmic drug used for the treatment of a wide variety of cardiac arrhythmias and its most striking feature is its high iodine content. Thyroid dysfunction is a limiting side-effect of the drug and both AMD-induced hypothyroidism (AIH) and AMD-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) are reported. To examine the hypothesis that altered bioavailability of iodine is a contributing event in the pathogenesis of AIH, we compared the effects of AMD and inorganic iodine in vitro on events involved in the process of thyroid autoregulation. FRTL-5 cells and JP26 CHO cells (transfected with the human TSH receptor) were exposed to AMD or NaI in the presence of TSH, and cAMP production was measured as an indicator of cellular function. Forskolin and cholera toxin were also used to determine the possible target sites of AMD and iodide. Our results indicated that there was a difference between the effects of AMD versus those of physiological doses of iodide. The inhibitory effects of AMD occurred at lower concentrations of iodide than those seen in the NaI-treated cells. The effects of AMD were irreversible indicating a possible persistence of the Wolff-Chaikoff effect due to a constant high intracellular iodide level. The inhibitory effects of AMD (also seen at supraphysiological doses of iodide) were partially overcome by forskolin but not by cholera toxin indicating an effect on TSH receptor interactions with the other signal transduction elements such as G proteins and adenylate cyclase. The persistence of the Wolff-Chaikoff effect through loss of autoregulation may be a mechanism of the observed hypothyroidism in some patients taking AMD. The combined effects of the constant release of iodide together with the drug toxicity may be the mechanism for the observed effects. (+info)