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On the cardiovascular action of dopamine in rats

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Summary

In rats anaesthetized with urethane the pressor effect of dopamine was not significantly altered by treatment with desipramine, which enhanced the action of noradrenaline on blood pressure and heart rate and abolished that of tyramine. Chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine in rats potentiated responses to noradrenaline and prevented the action of tyramine on blood pressure but did not significantly modify the pressor effects of dopamine. Furthermore, pretreatment with reserpine shifted the dose-response curves for dopamine and for tyramine on heart rate to the right. The dose-response curve for dopamine like that for noradrenaline on blood pressure was unaltered or shifted slightly to the left by reserpine. It is concluded that also in the rat an indirect, tyramine-like component contributes substantially to the cardiovascular action of dopamine.

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Neuvonen, P.J., Westermann, E. On the cardiovascular action of dopamine in rats. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 280, 363–371 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00506629

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00506629

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