Sample records for digitoxin

  1. 21 CFR 862.3300 - Digitoxin test system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Digitoxin test system. 862.3300 Section 862.3300...) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Toxicology Test Systems § 862.3300 Digitoxin test system. (a) Identification. A digitoxin test system is a device intended to measure...

  2. 21 CFR 862.3300 - Digitoxin test system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Digitoxin test system. 862.3300 Section 862.3300...) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Toxicology Test Systems § 862.3300 Digitoxin test system. (a) Identification. A digitoxin test system is a device intended to measure...

  3. 21 CFR 862.3300 - Digitoxin test system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Digitoxin test system. 862.3300 Section 862.3300...) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Toxicology Test Systems § 862.3300 Digitoxin test system. (a) Identification. A digitoxin test system is a device intended to measure...

  4. 21 CFR 862.3300 - Digitoxin test system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Digitoxin test system. 862.3300 Section 862.3300...) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Toxicology Test Systems § 862.3300 Digitoxin test system. (a) Identification. A digitoxin test system is a device intended to measure...

  5. 21 CFR 862.3300 - Digitoxin test system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ...) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Toxicology Test Systems § 862... diagnosis and treatment of digitoxin overdose and in monitoring levels of digitoxin to ensure appropriate...

  6. Digitoxin medication and cancer; case control and internal dose-response studies

    PubMed Central

    Haux, Johan; Klepp, Olbjørn; Spigset, Olav; Tretli, Steinar

    2001-01-01

    Background Digitoxin induces apoptosis in different human malignant cell lines in vitro. In this paper we investigated if patients taking digitoxin for cardiac disease have a different cancer incidence compared to the general population. Methods Computer stored data on digitoxin concentrations in plasma from 9271 patients with cardiac disease were used to define a user population. Age and sex matched controls from the Norwegian Cancer Registry were used to calculate the number of expected cancer cases. Results The population on digitoxin showed a higher incidence of cancer compared to the control population. However, an additional analysis showed that the population on digitoxin had a general increased risk of cancer already, before the start on digitoxin. Leukemia/lymphoma were the cancer types which stood out with the highest risk in the digitoxin population before starting on digitoxin. This indicates that yet unknown risk factors exist for cardiovascular disease and lymphoproliferative cancer. An internal dose-response analysis revealed a relationship between high plasma concentration of digitoxin and a lower risk for leukemia/lymphoma and for cancer of the kidney/urinary tract. Conclusion Morbidity and mortality are high in the population on digitoxin, due to high age and cardiac disease.These factors disturb efforts to isolate an eventual anticancer effect of digitoxin in this setting. Still, the results may indicate an anticancer effect of digitoxin for leukemia/lymphoma and kidney/urinary tract cancers. Prospective clinical cancer trials have to be done to find out if digitoxin and other cardiac glycosides are useful as anticancer agents. PMID:11532201

  7. Anti-tumorigenic effects of a novel digitoxin derivative on both estrogen receptor-positive and triple-negative breast cancer cells.

    PubMed

    Kulkarni, Yogesh M; Yakisich, Juan S; Azad, Neelam; Venkatadri, Rajkumar; Kaushik, Vivek; O'Doherty, George; Iyer, Anand Krishnan V

    2017-06-01

    While there are targeted treatments for triple positive breast cancers, lack of specific biomarkers for triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) has hindered the development of therapies for this subset of cancers. In this study, we evaluated the anticancer properties of cardiac glycoside Digitoxin (Dtx) and its synthetic analog MonoD on breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 (estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer) and MDA-MB-468 (triple-negative breast cancer). Both cardiac glycosides, at concentrations within the therapeutic range, increased the fraction of cells in the G 0 /G 1 phase of the cell cycle, decreased viability, and inhibited the migration of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells. Both cardiac glycosides increased production of superoxide and induced apoptosis in both cell types. Reduced protein levels of nuclear factor kappa B and IkappaB kinase-beta were found in cardiac glycoside-treated cells, indicating that the cellular effects of these compounds are mediated via nuclear factor kappa B pathway. This study demonstrates the cytotoxic potential of digitoxin, and more importantly its synthetic analog MonoD, in the treatment of triple-positive breast cancer and more importantly the aggressive triple-negative breast cancer. Collectively, this study provides a basis for the reevaluation of cardiac glycosides in the treatment of breast cancer and more importantly reveals their potential in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers.

  8. The rate of uptake of cardiac glycosides into human cultured cells and the effects of chloroquine on it.

    PubMed

    Algharably, N; Owler, D; Lamb, J F

    1986-10-15

    HeLa cells grown on Petri dishes were either pulse labelled with various cardiac glycosides or grown in low concentrations of them for up to 2 days; either in the presence of chloroquine or not. The cells were then homogenised and the cell free homogenate layered on a continuous sucrose gradient; and the glycoside content and that of various markers measured. In another series of experiments HeLa cells were grown on plastic beads under the above conditions and then the content of glycosides and of some marker enzymes measured. The rate of internalisation of ouabain, digoxin and digitoxin from the plasma membrane preparation produced by the bead method is at 9% hr-1, similar to the rate of loss of digoxin and digitoxin from whole cells but much faster than that of ouabain. In the sucrose gradient experiments it was found that [3H]ouabain, digoxin and digitoxin all initially co-distribute with the plasma membrane marker, 5'-nucleotidase, and then leave this fraction of the homogenate at a fast rate when kept at 37 degrees, to co-distribute with the lysosomal marker, beta-hexosaminidase. At 2 degrees the ouabain remains co-distributed with the plasma membrane marker. The rate of transfer is estimated to be some 90% hr-1, much faster than previously thought. Chloroquine causes an increased retention of digoxin and digitoxin in the lysosomal fraction of the homogenate. These results are best explained by supposing that the sodium pump-glycoside complex rapidly enters a region of the peripheral cytoplasm, and that this region then controls the subsequent exit of digoxin and digitoxin from the cell. The main barrier for ouabain occurs at a stage later than this. The consequences of this model on other aspects of pump activity is discussed.

  9. In vitro propagation and production of cardiotonic glycosides in shoot cultures of Digitalis purpurea L. by elicitation and precursor feeding.

    PubMed

    Patil, Jitendra Gopichand; Ahire, Mahendra Laxman; Nitnaware, Kirti Manik; Panda, Sayantan; Bhatt, Vijay P; Kishor, Polavarapu B Kavi; Nikam, Tukaram Dayaram

    2013-03-01

    Digitalis purpurea L. (Scrophulariaceae; Foxglove) is a source of cardiotonic glycosides such as digitoxin and digoxin which are commercially applied in the treatment to strengthen cardiac diffusion and to regulate heart rhythm. This investigation deals with in vitro propagation and elicited production of cardiotonic glycosides digitoxin and digoxin in shoot cultures of D. purpurea L. In vitro germinated seedlings were used as a primary source of explants. Multiple shoot formation was achieved for three explant types (nodal, internodal, and leaf) cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with several treatments of cytokinins (6-benzyladenine-BA; kinetin-Kin; and thidiazuron-TDZ) and auxins (indole-3-acetic acid-IAA; α-naphthaleneacetic acid-NAA; and 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid-2,4-D). Maximum multiple shoots (12.7 ± 0.6) were produced from nodal explants on MS + 7.5 μM BA. Shoots were rooted in vitro on MS containing 15 μM IAA. Rooted plantlets were successfully acclimatized. To further maintain the multiple shoot induction, mother tissue was cut into four equal parts and repeatedly sub-cultured on fresh shoot induction liquid medium after each harvest. On adaptation of this strategy, an average of 18 shoots per explant could be produced. This strategy was applied for the production of biomass and glycosides digitoxin and digoxin in shoot cultures on MS medium supplemented with 7.5 μM BA and several treatments with plant growth regulators, incubation period, abiotic (salicylic acid, mannitol, sorbitol, PEG-6000, NaCl, and KCl), biotic (Aspergillus niger, Helminthosporium sp., Alternaria sp., chitin, and yeast extract) elicitors, and precursors (progesterone, cholesterol, and squalene). The treatment of KCl, mycelial mass of Helminthosporium sp., and progesterone were highly effective for the production of cardenolides. In the presence of progesterone (200 to 300 mg/l), digitoxin and digoxin accumulation was enhanced by 9.1- and 11.9-folds

  10. Pharmaceutical-grade albumin: impaired drug-binding capacity in vitro

    PubMed Central

    Olsen, Harald; Andersen, Anders; Nordbø, Arve; Kongsgaard, Ulf E; Børmer, Ole P

    2004-01-01

    Background Albumin is the most abundant protein in blood plasma, and due to its ligand binding properties, serves as a circulating depot for endogenous and exogenous (e.g. drugs) compounds. Hence, the unbound drug is the pharmacologically active drug. Commercial human albumin preparations are frequently used during surgery and in critically ill patients. Recent studies have indicated that the use of pharmaceutical-grade albumin is controversial in critically ill patients. In this in vitro study we investigated the drug binding properties of pharmaceutical-grade albumins (Baxter/Immuno, Octapharma, and Pharmacia & Upjohn), native human serum, and commercially available human serum albumin from Sigma Chemical Company. Methods The binding properties of the various albumin solutions were tested in vitro by means of ultrafiltration. Naproxen, warfarin, and digitoxin were used as ligands. HPLC was used to quantitate the total and free drug concentrations. The data were fitted to a model of two classes of binding sites for naproxen and warfarin and one class for digitoxin, using Microsoft Excel and Graphpad Prism. Results The drugs were highly bound to albumin (95–99.5%). The highest affinity (lowest K1) was found with naproxen. Pharmaceutical-grade albumin solutions displayed significantly lower drug-binding capacity compared to native human serum and Sigma albumin. Thus, the free fraction was considerably higher, approximately 40 times for naproxen and 5 and 2 times for warfarin and digitoxin, respectively. The stabilisers caprylic acid and N-acetyl-DL-tryptophan used in the manufacturing procedure seem to be of importance. Adding the stabilisers to human serum and Sigma albumin reduced the binding affinity whereas charcoal treatment of the pharmaceutical-grade albumin from Octapharma almost restored the specific binding capacity. Conclusion This in vitro study demonstrates that the specific binding for warfarin and digitoxin is significantly reduced and for naproxen

  11. Trial watch

    PubMed Central

    Menger, Laurie; Vacchelli, Erika; Kepp, Oliver; Eggermont, Alexander; Tartour, Eric; Zitvogel, Laurence; Kroemer, Guido; Galluzzi, Lorenzo

    2013-01-01

    Cardiac glycosides (CGs) are natural compounds sharing the ability to operate as potent inhibitors of the plasma membrane Na+/K+-ATPase, hence promoting—via an indirect mechanism—the intracellular accumulation of Ca2+ ions. In cardiomyocytes, increased intracellular Ca2+ concentrations exert prominent positive inotropic effects, that is, they increase myocardial contractility. Owing to this feature, two CGs, namely digoxin and digitoxin, have extensively been used in the past for the treatment of several cardiac conditions, including distinct types of arrhythmia as well as contractility disorders. Nowadays, digoxin is approved by the FDA and indicated for the treatment of congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter with rapid ventricular response, whereas the use of digitoxin has been discontinued in several Western countries. Recently, CGs have been suggested to exert potent antineoplastic effects, notably as they appear to increase the immunogenicity of dying cancer cells. In this Trial Watch, we summarize the mechanisms that underpin the unsuspected anticancer potential of CGs and discuss the progress of clinical studies that have evaluated/are evaluating the safety and efficacy of CGs for oncological indications. PMID:23525565

  12. Heterogeneous transport of digitalis-like compounds by P-glycoprotein in vesicular and cellular assays.

    PubMed

    Gozalpour, Elnaz; Wilmer, Martijn J; Bilos, Albert; Masereeuw, Rosalinde; Russel, Frans G M; Koenderink, Jan B

    2016-04-01

    Digitalis-like compounds (DLCs), the ancient medication of heart failure and Na,K-ATPase inhibitors, are characterized by their toxicity. Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) at absorption and excretion levels play a key role in their toxicity, hence, knowledge about the transporters involved might prevent these unwanted interactions. In the present study, the transport of fourteen DLCs with human P-glycoprotein (P-gp; ABCB1) was studied using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) quantification method. DLC transport by P-gp overexpressing Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) and immortalized human renal cells (ciPTEC) was compared to vesicular DLC transport. Previously, we identified convallatoxin as a substrate using membrane vesicles overexpressing P-gp; however, we could not measure transport of other DLCs in this assay (Gozalpour et al., 2014a). Here, we showed that lipophilic digitoxin, digoxigenin, strophanthidin and proscillaridin A are P-gp substrates in cellular accumulation assays, whereas the less lipophilic convallatoxin was not. P-gp function in the cellular accumulation assays depends on the entrance of lipophilic compounds by passive diffusion, whereas the vesicular transport assay is more appropriate for hydrophilic substrates. In conclusion, we identified digitoxin, digoxigenin, strophanthidin and proscillaridin A as P-gp substrates using cellular accumulation assays and recognized lipophilicity as an important factor in selecting a suitable transport assay. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Interaction of digitalis-like compounds with liver uptake transporters NTCP, OATP1B1, and OATP1B3.

    PubMed

    Gozalpour, Elnaz; Greupink, Rick; Wortelboer, Heleen M; Bilos, Albert; Schreurs, Marieke; Russel, Frans G M; Koenderink, Jan B

    2014-06-02

    Digitalis-like compounds (DLCs) such as digoxin, digitoxin, and ouabain, also known as cardiac glycosides, are among the oldest pharmacological treatments for heart failure. The compounds have a narrow therapeutic window, while at the same time, DLC pharmacokinetics is prone to drug-drug interactions at the transport level. Hepatic transporters organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1, OATP1B3, and Na(+)-dependent taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) influence the disposition of a variety of drugs by mediating their uptake from blood into hepatocytes. The interaction of digoxin, digitoxin, and ouabain with hepatic uptake transporters has been studied before. However, here, we systematically investigated a much wider range of structurally related DLCs for their capability to inhibit or to be transported by these transporters in order to better understand the relation between the activity and chemical structure of this compound type. We studied the uptake and inhibitory potency of a series of 14 structurally related DLCs in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing NTCP (CHO-NTCP) and human embryonic kidney cells expressing OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 (HEK-OATP1B1 and HEK-OATP1B3). The inhibitory effect of the DLCs was measured against taurocholic acid (TCA) uptake in CHO-NTCP cells and against uptake of β-estradiol 17-β-d-glucuronide (E217βG) in HEK-OATP1B1 and HEK-OATP1B3 cells. Proscillaridin A was the most effective inhibitor of NTCP-mediated TCA transport (IC50 = 22 μM), whereas digitoxin and digitoxigenin were the most potent inhibitors of OATP1B1 and OAPTP1B3, with IC50 values of 14.2 and 36 μM, respectively. Additionally, we found that the sugar moiety and hydroxyl groups of the DLCs play different roles in their interaction with NTCP, OATP1B1, and OATP1B3. The sugar moiety decreases the inhibition of NTCP and OATP1B3 transport activity, whereas it enhances the inhibitory potency against OATP1B1. Moreover, the hydroxyl group at position 12

  14. STUDIES OF VERAPAMIL BINDING TO HUMAN SERUM ALBUMIN BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY

    PubMed Central

    Mallik, Rangan; Yoo, Michelle J.; Chen, Sike; Hage, David S.

    2008-01-01

    The binding of verapamil to the protein human serum albumin (HSA) was examined by using high-performance affinity chromatography. Many previous reports have investigated the binding of verapamil with HSA, but the exact strength and nature of this interaction (e.g., the number and location of binding sites) is still unclear. In this study, frontal analysis indicated that at least one major binding site was present for R- and S-verapamil on HSA, with estimated association equilibrium constants on the order of 104 M−1 and a 1.4-fold difference in these values for the verapamil enantiomers at pH 7.4 and 37°C. The presence of a second, weaker group of binding sites on HSA was also suggested by these results. Competitive binding studies using zonal elution were carried out between verapamil and various probe compounds that have known interactions with several major and minor sites on HSA. R/S-Verapamil was found to have direct competition with S-warfarin, indicating that verapamil was binding to Sudlow site I (i.e., the warfarin-azapropazone site of HSA). The average association equilibrium constant for R- and S-verapamil at this site was 1.4 (±0.1) × 104 M−1. Verapamil did not have any notable binding to Sudlow site II of HSA but did appear to have some weak allosteric interactions with L-tryptophan, a probe for this site. An allosteric interaction between verapamil and tamoxifen (a probe for the tamoxifen site) was also noted, which was consistent with the binding of verapamil at Sudlow site I. No interaction was seen between verapamil and digitoxin, a probe for the digitoxin site of HSA. These results gave good agreement with previous observations made in the literature and help provide a more detailed description of how verapamil is transported in blood and of how it may interact with other drugs in the body. PMID:18980867

  15. Trial Watch: Immunogenic cell death inducers for anticancer chemotherapy.

    PubMed

    Pol, Jonathan; Vacchelli, Erika; Aranda, Fernando; Castoldi, Francesca; Eggermont, Alexander; Cremer, Isabelle; Sautès-Fridman, Catherine; Fucikova, Jitka; Galon, Jérôme; Spisek, Radek; Tartour, Eric; Zitvogel, Laurence; Kroemer, Guido; Galluzzi, Lorenzo

    2015-04-01

    The term "immunogenic cell death" (ICD) is now employed to indicate a functionally peculiar form of apoptosis that is sufficient for immunocompetent hosts to mount an adaptive immune response against dead cell-associated antigens. Several drugs have been ascribed with the ability to provoke ICD when employed as standalone therapeutic interventions. These include various chemotherapeutics routinely employed in the clinic (e.g., doxorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, mitoxantrone, bleomycin, bortezomib, cyclophosphamide and oxaliplatin) as well as some anticancer agents that are still under preclinical or clinical development (e.g., some microtubular inhibitors of the epothilone family). In addition, a few drugs are able to convert otherwise non-immunogenic instances of cell death into bona fide ICD, and may therefore be employed as chemotherapeutic adjuvants within combinatorial regimens. This is the case of cardiac glycosides, like digoxin and digitoxin, and zoledronic acid. Here, we discuss recent developments on anticancer chemotherapy based on ICD inducers.

  16. Evaluation of the binding interaction between bovine serum albumin and dimethyl fumarate, an anti-inflammatory drug by multispectroscopic methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jattinagoudar, Laxmi; Meti, Manjunath; Nandibewoor, Sharanappa; Chimatadar, Shivamurti

    2016-03-01

    The information of the quenching reaction of bovine serum albumin with dimethyl fumarate is obtained by multi-spectroscopic methods. The number of binding sites, n and binding constants, KA were determined at different temperatures. The effect of increasing temperature on Stern-Volmer quenching constants (KD) indicates that a dynamic quenching mechanism is involved in the interaction. The analysis of thermodynamic quantities namely, ∆H° and ∆S° suggested hydrophobic forces playing a major role in the interaction between dimethyl fumarate and bovine serum albumin. The binding site of dimethyl fumarate on bovine serum albumin was determined by displacement studies, using the site probes viz., warfarin, ibuprofen and digitoxin. The determination of magnitude of the distance of approach for molecular interactions between dimethyl fumarate and bovine serum albumin is calculated according to the theory of Förster energy transfer. The CD, 3D fluorescence spectra, synchronous fluorescence measurements and FT-IR spectral results were indicative of the change in secondary structure of the protein. The influence of some of the metal ions on the binding interaction was also studied.

  17. Plant-derived cardiac glycosides: Role in heart ailments and cancer management.

    PubMed

    Patel, Seema

    2016-12-01

    Cardiac glycosides, the cardiotonic steroids such as digitalis have been in use as heart ailment remedy since ages. They manipulate the renin-angiotensin axis to improve cardiac output. However; their safety and efficacy have come under scrutiny in recent times, as poisoning and accidental mortalities have been observed. In order to better understand and exploit them as cardiac ionotropes, studies are being pursued using different cardiac glycosides such as digitoxin, digoxin, ouabain, oleandrin etc. Several cardiac glycosides as peruvoside have shown promise in cancer control, especially ovary cancer and leukemia. Functional variability of these glycosides has revealed that not all cardiac glycosides are alike. Apart from their specific affinity to sodium-potassium ATPase, their therapeutic dosage and behavior in poly-morbidity conditions needs to be considered. This review presents a concise account of the key findings in recent years with adequate elaboration of the mechanisms. This compilation is expected to contribute towards management of cardiac, cancer, even viral ailments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. Induced responses to herbivory and jasmonate in three milkweed species.

    PubMed

    Rasmann, Sergio; Johnson, M Daisy; Agrawal, Anurag A

    2009-11-01

    We studied constitutive and induced defensive traits (latex exudation, cardenolides, proteases, and C/N ratio) and resistance to monarch caterpillars (Danaus plexippus) in three closely related milkweed species (Asclepias angustifolia, A. barjoniifolia and A. fascicularis). All traits showed significant induction in at least one of the species. Jasmonate application only partially mimicked the effect of monarch feeding. We found some correspondence between latex and cardenolide content and reduced larval growth. Larvae fed cut leaves of A. angustifolia grew better than larvae fed intact plants. Addition of the cardenolide digitoxin to cut leaves reduced larval growth but ouabain (at the same concentration) had no effect. We, thus, confirm that latex and cardenolides are major defenses in milkweeds, effective against a specialist herbivore. Other traits such as proteases and C/N ratio additionally may be integrated in the defense scheme of those plants. Induction seems to play an important role in plants that have an intermediate level of defense, and we advocate incorporating induction as an additional axis of the plant defense syndrome hypothesis.

  19. Do evacuated blood collection tubes interfere with therapeutic drug monitoring?

    PubMed

    Janknegt, R; Lohman, J J; Hooymans, P M; Merkus, F W

    1983-12-16

    The influence of various brands of evacuated blood collection systems (the old type, red stoppered Vacutainer; the new type, blue stoppered Vacutainer; Monoject and Venoject) on therapeutic drug monitoring was investigated. No interferences were found in the assay of ethosuximide, phenobarbital, phenytoin, valproic acid, digitoxin, digoxin, procainamide, gentamicin and theophylline. Using Monoject and old type Vacutainer tubes, lower levels were found in the disopyramide assay: 91.3 +/- 4.6% (p less than 0.05) and 91.7 +/- 7.0% (not significant) respectively, and in the quinidine assay: 82.8 +/- 6.7% (p less than 0.02) and 83.9 +/- 4.4% (p less than 0.001) respectively as compared with glass tubes. In the carbamazepine assay a decrease was found in the Monoject tubes only: 93.7 +/- 1.7% (p less than 0.01). The stoppers of Monoject tubes and the old type Vacutainer tubes contained the plasticizer tris-(2-butoxyethyl)phosphate (TBEP), which has been shown to be a potent inhibitor of the binding of several drugs to alpha 1-acid glycoprotein. Using the new type Vacutainer and the Venoject, no interferences were found.

  20. Light-dependent delta pH and membrane potential changes in halobacterial vesicles coupled to sodium transport

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kamo, N.; Racanelli, T.; Packer, L.

    1982-01-01

    Bacteriorhodopsin and Halorhodopsin present in Halobacterium halobium strains have been investigated in relation to Na/sup +//H/sup +/ exchange in isolated cell envelope vesicles. Upon illumination, these retinal proteins result in extrusion of sodium ions by either an electrogenic Na/sup +//Ha/sup +/ antiporter and/or a direct sodium pump. Since a molecular characterization of these mechanism(s) of sodium extrusion has not yet been realized, it was of interest to measure directly the light- and sodium-dependent changes in delta pH and membrane potential under nearly identical conditions in S9 and R1mR cell membrane vesicles to gain information on the relation of these retinalmore » proteins to sodium extrusion. These activities were evaluated in terms of their dependence on light intensity, and on the inhibitory effect of chemical modifiers of carboxyl groups (carbodiimides); electroneutral exchanges (monensin and triphenyltin); digitoxin and some analogues; and phloretin. Under most of the conditions and treatments employed, light- and sodium-dependent delta pH led to similar effects in both membrane vesicle types. Hence, it is concluded that the delta pH and delta psi which arise from sodium transport occur by either a single mechanism or by one which shares common features.« less

  1. Determination of pseudoprotodioscin in rat plasma by UPLC-MS/MS: Assay development and application to pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Liao, Min; Chen, Xiao; Chen, Jiefeng; Liu, Mengping; Wang, Junyi; Chen, Zuanguang; Xie, Zhiyong; Yao, Meicun

    2016-07-15

    An original and sensitive ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the determination of pseudoprotodioscin (PPD) in rat plasma was developed and validated. Digitoxin was applied as an internal standard. Plasma samples were processed by acetonitrile-mediated plasma protein precipitation and chromatographed using a step gradient program on a C18 column (2.1×50mm i.d., 1.7μm). The mobile phase was comprised of acetonitrile and 0.1mmolL(-1) aqueous lithium acetate mixed with 0.03% formic acid at the flow rate of 0.2mLmin(-1). Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions were performed for detection and lithium adduct ions were employed with a significant improvement of the response of the analytes in electrospray positive ionization mode. The concentration range of calibration curve was linear over the range 2-5000ngmL(-1). The intra- and inter-day precisions were all less than 11.5% and accuracies were within the range of 94.1-103.5%, and the analytes exhibited no severe matrix effect. The validated method was successfully applied in the pharmacokinetics of PPD after intragastric (50mgkg(-1)) and intravenous (4mgkg(-1)) administration in rats. PPD showed rapid excretion and with bioavailability of simply about 5.7% in rats. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Survival and prognosis: investigation of Crataegus extract WS 1442 in congestive heart failure (SPICE)--rationale, study design and study protocol.

    PubMed

    Holubarsch, C J; Colucci, W S; Meinertz, T; Gaus, W; Tendera, M

    2000-12-01

    SPICE is the first, international, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study to investigate the influence of the herbal drug Crataegus Special Extract WS 1442 (hawthorn leaves with flowers) on mortality of patients suffering from congestive heart failure. In vitro and experimental animal studies have suggested the following pharmacological modes of action of standardized Crataegus extracts: (1) cAMP-independent positive inotropy; (2) peripheral and coronary vasodilation; (3) protection against ischemia-induced ventricular arrhythmias; (4) antioxidative properties; and (5) anti-inflammatory effects. In this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, international trial (approximately 120 investigational centers in seven European countries), up to 2300 patients with congestive heart failure, New York Heart Association class II and III and markedly impaired left ventricular function, will be enrolled and treated over a period of 24 months. During this time patients receive either two film-coated tablets of 450 mg of the Special Extract WS 1442 standardized to 84.3 mg of oligomeric procyanidines or matched placebo per day in addition to standard therapy for congestive heart failure, such as diuretics, digoxin or digitoxin, beta-adrenoceptor blockers and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors. The primary outcome variable is the combined endpoint of cardiac death, non-lethal myocardial infarction, and hospitalization due to progression of heart failure. Secondary outcome variables are total mortality, exercise duration, echocardiographic parameters, quality of life as well as pharmacoeconomic parameters. The first patient was included in October 1998. The trial is expected to be completed at the end of 2002.

  3. [No effect of digitalis on sex and adrenal hormones in healthy subjects and in patients with congestive heart failure].

    PubMed

    Kley, H K; Abendroth, H; Hehrmann, R; Müller, A; Keck, E; Schneitler, H; Elsässer, H; Krüskemper, H L

    1984-01-16

    Digoxin was studied to see whether it impairs adrenal function and feminizes male subjects by changing plasma sexual hormones; both have been reported on previously. In eight healthy male subjects neither estrone (38.7 +/- 7.7 vs 35.4 +/- 3.2 pg/ml) nor estradiol (35.8 +/- 6.4 vs 32.2 +/- 3.9 pg/ml) nor testosterone (6.32 +/- 0.74 vs 6.45 +/- 0.73 ng/ml) were found to be altered by digoxin administration (plasma levels 1.55 +/0- 0.27 ng/ml) lasting 35 days. The same was true of free testosterone (147 +/- 24 vs 142 +/- 19 pg/ml) and free estradiol (657 +/- 77 vs 615 +/- 78 fg/ml). Even maximal stimulation of the adrenal and gonadal glands by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) did not exhibit any digoxin-induced alterations in the synthesizing capacity of steroid hormones, as shown by plasma cortisol (increase from 128 +/- 18 to 389 +/- 18 ng/ml) and testosterone (from 5.96 +/- 0.90 to 10.33 +/- 1.19 ng/ml). Furthermore, seven subjects on digoxin were observed over a period of 150-210 days; they did not show any increase of estrogens. This was also found in three subjects when estrogen levels were elevated initially due to extreme obesity. Also, 35 patients who took beta-methyldigoxin (n = 8), beta-acetyldigoxin (n = 20) and digitoxin (n = 7) from 1 to 9 (mean: 1.9) years demonstrated normal plasma concentrations of gonadal and adrenal steroids, irrespective of duration of application or the digitalis compound.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  4. Identification of drug interactions in hospitals--computerized screening vs. bedside recording.

    PubMed

    Blix, H S; Viktil, K K; Moger, T A; Reikvam, A

    2008-04-01

    Managing drug interactions in hospitalized patients is important and challenging. The objective of the study was to compare two methods for identification of drug interactions (DDIs)--computerized screening and prospective bedside recording--with regard to capability of identifying DDIs. Patient characteristics were recorded for patients admitted to five hospitals. By bedside evaluation drug-related problems, including DDIs, were prospectively recorded by pharmacists and discussed in multidisciplinary teams. A computer screening programme was used to identify DDIs retrospectively--dividing DDIs into four classes: A, avoid; B, avoid/take precautions; C, take precautions; D, no action needed. Among 827 patients, computer screening identified DDIs in 544 patients (66%); 351 had DDIs introduced in hospital. The 1513 computer-identified DDIs had the following distribution: type A 78; type B 915; type C 38; type D 482. By bedside evaluation, 99 DDIs were identified in 73 patients (9%). The proportions of computer recorded DDIs which were also identified at the bedside were: 5%, 8%, 8%, 2% DDIs of types A, B, C and D respectively. In 10 patients, DDIs not registered by computer screening were identified by bedside evaluation. The drugs most frequently involved in DDIs, identified by computerized screening were acetylsalicylic acid, warfarin, furosemide and digitoxin compared with warfarin, simvastatin, theophylline and carbamazepine, by bedside evaluation. Despite an active prospective bedside search for DDIs, this approach identified less than one in 10 of the DDIs recorded by computer screening, including those regarded as hazardous. However, computer screening overestimates considerably when the objective is to identify clinically relevant DDIs.

  5. Characterization of digitalis-like factors in human plasma. Interactions with NaK-ATPase and cross-reactivity with cardiac glycoside-specific antibodies.

    PubMed

    Kelly, R A; O'Hara, D S; Canessa, M L; Mitch, W E; Smith, T W

    1985-09-25

    Much of the evidence for a physiologically important endogenous inhibitor of the sodium pump has been either contradictory or indirect. We have identified three discrete fractions in desalted deproteinized plasma from normal humans that resemble the digitalis glycosides in that they: are of low molecular weight; are resistant to acid and enzymatic proteolysis; inhibit NaK-ATPase activity; inhibit Na+ pump activity in human erythrocytes; displace [3H]ouabain bound to the enzyme; and cross-react with high-affinity polyclonal and monoclonal digoxin-specific antibodies but not with anti-ouabain or anti-digitoxin antibodies. An additional fraction cross-reacted with digoxin-specific antibodies but had no detectable activity against NaK-ATPase. The three inhibitory fractions differed from cardiac glycosides in that their concentration-effect curves in a NaK-ATPase inhibition and [3H]ouabain radioreceptor assays were steeper than unlabeled ouabain. This suggests that these inhibitors are not simple competitive ligands for binding to NaK-ATPase. In the presence of sodium, no fraction required ATP for binding to NaK-ATPase, and in the presence of potassium, only one fraction had the reduced affinity for the enzyme that is characteristic of cardiac glycosides. Unlike digitalis, all three NaK-ATPase inhibitory fractions stimulated the activity of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase. The presence of at least three fractions in human plasma that inhibit NaK-ATPase and cross-react to a variable degree with different digoxin-specific antibody populations could explain much of the conflicting evidence for the existence of endogenous digitalis-like compounds in plasma.

  6. Light-induced DELTApH and DELTApsi in halobacterial vesicles related to sodium transport

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kamo, N.; Racanclli, T.; Packer, L.

    1986-01-01

    Membranes of Halobacterium halobium contain two retinoproteins, baceteriorhodopsin (BR/sub 568nm/) and halorhodopsin (HR/sub 588nm/). We have investigated the light- and sodium-dependent activities in vesicles from the HR containing R/sub 1/mR strain, and the BR + HR containing S/sub 9/ strain to study energy conversion and ion flow mechanisms. Simultaneous ..delta..pH and ..delta..psi measurements have been made with electrodes. In R/sub 1/mR vesicles, -..delta..psi and H/sup +/ uptake occurs in NaCl but not in KCl medium. In S/sub 9/ vesicles, net H/sup +/ extrusion is reduced at high light intensity in NaCl but not KCl medium. Such results indicate Na/sup +//H/supmore » +/ exchange in vesicles from both strains. As S/sub 9/ contains BR + HR, it is unclear whether the Na/sup +/ extrusion is due to a Na/sup +//H/sup +/ antiporter and/or HR which has been proposed to be a light driven Na/sup +/ pump. To evaluate these concepts for Na/sup +/ transport, the light intensity dependence and action of several membrane transport active agents have been compared. Digitoxin, electro-neutral exchangers (triphenyltin and monensin), and phloretin yielded similar results for HR (R/sub 1/mR) and HR + BR (S/sub 9/) vesicles. Moreover treatment of vesicles with carboxyl reacting reagents inhibited Na/sup +/ dependent activity in both types of vesicles. Thus, common mechanisms of Na/sup +/ transport are indicated in S/sub 9/ and R/sub 1/mR vesicles. 22 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.« less

  7. Pharmaceutical wastewater being composite mixture of environmental pollutants may be associated with mutagenicity and genotoxicity.

    PubMed

    Sharif, Ali; Ashraf, Muhammad; Anjum, Aftab Ahmed; Javeed, Aqeel; Altaf, Imran; Akhtar, Muhammad Furqan; Abbas, Mateen; Akhtar, Bushra; Saleem, Ammara

    2016-02-01

    Pharmaceutical industries are amongst the foremost contributor to industrial waste. Ecological well-being is endangered owing to its facile discharge. In the present study, heavy metals and organic contaminants in waste water were characterized using atomic absorption spectrophotometer and GC-MS, respectively. Mutagenicity and genotoxic potential of pharmaceutical waste water were investigated through bacterial reverse mutation assay and in vitro comet assay, respectively. Ames test and comet assay of first sample were carried out at concentrations of 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25 % v/v effluent with distilled water. Chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) were found in high concentrations as compared to WHO- and EPA-recommended maximum limits. Arsenic was found to be the most abundant metal and its maximum concentration was 0.8 mg.L(-1). GC-MS revealed the presence of lignocaine, digitoxin, trimethoprim, caffeine, and vitamin E in waste water. Dose-dependent decrease in mutagenic index was observed in both strains. Substantial increase in mutagenicity was observed for TA-100, when assay was done by incorporating an enzyme activation system, whereas a slight increase was detected for TA-102. In vitro comet assay of waste water exhibited decrease in damage index and percentage fragmentation with the increase in dilution of waste water. Tail length also decreased with an increase in the dilution factor of waste water. These findings suggest that pharmaceutical waste water being a mix of different heavy metals and organic contaminants may have a potent mutagenic and genotoxic effect on exposed living organisms.

  8. Screening approach by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the blood quantification of thirty-four toxic principles of plant origin. Application to forensic toxicology.

    PubMed

    Carlier, Jérémy; Guitton, Jérôme; Romeuf, Ludovic; Bévalot, Fabien; Boyer, Baptiste; Fanton, Laurent; Gaillard, Yvan

    2015-01-15

    Plant poisonings have left their mark on history and still cause many deaths, whether intentional or accidental. The means to show toxicological evidence of such poisonings should be implemented with great care. This article presents a technique for measuring thirty-nine toxic principles of plant origin in the blood, covering a large amount of toxins from local or exotic plants: α-lobeline, α-solanine, aconitine, ajmaline, atropine, brucine, cephalomannine, colchicine, convallatoxin, cymarine, cytisine, digitoxin, digoxin, emetine, gelsemine, ibogaine, jervine, kavain, lanatoside C, lupanine, mitragynine, neriifolin, oleandrin, ouabain, paclitaxel, physostigmine, pilocarpine, podophyllotoxin, proscillaridin A, reserpine, retrorsine, ricinine, scopolamine, senecionine, sparteine, strophanthidin, strychnine, veratridine and yohimbine. Analysis was carried out using an original ultra-high performance liquid chromatography separation coupled with tandem mass spectrometry detection. Extraction was a standard solid phase extraction performed on Oasis(®) HLB cartridge. Thirty-four of the thirty-nine compounds were put through a validation procedure. The assay was linear in the calibration curve range from 0.5 or 5 μg/L to 1000 μg/L according to the compounds. The method is sensitive (LOD from 0.1 to 1.6 μg/L). The within-day precision of the assay was less than 22.5% at the LLOQ, and the between-day precision was less than 21.5% for 10 μg/L for all the compounds included. The assay accuracy was in the range of 87.4 to 119.8% for the LLOQ. The extraction recovery and matrix effect ranged from 30 to 106% and from -30 to 14%, respectively. It has proven useful and effective in several difficult forensic cases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Identification and quantification of cardiac glycosides in blood and urine samples by HPLC/MS/MS.

    PubMed

    Guan, F; Ishii, A; Seno, H; Watanabe-Suzuki, K; Kumazawa, T; Suzuki, O

    1999-09-15

    Cardiac glycosides (CG) are of forensic importance because of their toxicity and the fact that very limited methods are available for identification of CG in biological samples. In this study, we have developed an identification and quantification method for digoxin, digitoxin, deslanoside, digoxigenin, and digitoxigenin by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS). CG formed abundant [M + NH4]+ ions and much less abundant [M + H]+ ions as observed with electrospray ionization (ESI) source and ammonium formate buffer. Under mild conditions for collision-induced dissociation (CID), each [M + NH4]+ ion fragmented to produce a dominant daughter ion, which was essential to the sensitive method of selected reaction monitoring (SRM) quantification of CG achieved in this study. SRM was compared with selected ion monitoring (SIM) regarding the effects of sample matrixes on the methodology. SRM produced lower detection limits with biological samples than SIM, while both methods produced equal detection limits with CG standards. On the basis of the HPLC/MS/MS results for CG, we have proposed some generalized points for conducting sensitive SRM measurements, in view of the property of analytes as well as instrumental conditions such as the type of HPLC/MS interface and CID parameters. Analytes of which the molecular ion can produce one abundant daughter ion with high yield under CID conditions may be sensitively measured by SRM. ESI is the most soft ionization source developed so far and can afford formation of the fragile molecular ions that are necessary for sensitive SRM detection. Mild CID conditions such as low collision energy and low pressure of collision gas favor production of an abundant daughter ion that is essential to sensitive SRM detection. This knowledge may provide some guidelines for conducting sensitive SRM measurements of very low concentrations of drugs or toxicants in biological samples.

  10. Development of a quantitative LC-MS/MS analytical method coupled with turbulent flow chromatography for digoxin for the in vitro P-gp inhibition assay.

    PubMed

    Smalley, James; Marino, Anthony M; Xin, Baomin; Olah, Timothy; Balimane, Praveen V

    2007-07-01

    Caco-2 cells, the human colon carcinoma cells, are typically used for screening compounds for their permeability characteristics and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) interaction potential during discovery and development. The P-gp inhibition of test compounds is assessed by performing bi-directional permeability studies with digoxin, a well established P-gp substrate probe. Studies performed with digoxin alone as well as digoxin in presence of test compounds as putative inhibitors constitute the P-gp inhibition assay used to assess the potential liability of discovery compounds. Radiolabeled (3)H-digoxin is commonly used in such studies followed by liquid scintillation counting. This manuscript describes the development of a sensitive, accurate, and reproducible LC-MS/MS method for analysis of digoxin and its internal standard digitoxin using an on-line extraction turbulent flow chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometric detection that is amendable to high throughput with use of 96-well plates. The standard curve for digoxin was linear between 10 nM and 5000 nM with regression coefficient (R(2)) of 0.99. The applicability and reliability of the analysis method was evaluated by successful demonstration of efflux ratio (permeability B to A over permeability A to B) greater than 10 for digoxin in Caco-2 cells. Additional evaluations were performed on 13 marketed compounds by conducting inhibition studies in Caco-2 cells using classical P-gp inhibitors (ketoconazole, cyclosporin, verapamil, quinidine, saquinavir etc.) and comparing the results to historical data with (3)H-digoxin studies. Similarly, P-gp inhibition studies with LC-MS/MS analytical method for digoxin were also performed for 21 additional test compounds classified as negative, moderate, and potent P-gp inhibitors spanning multiple chemo types and results compared with the historical P-gp inhibition data from the (3)H-digoxin studies. A very good correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.89 between the results

  11. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ogawa, E.; Suzuki, S.; Fukuda, R.

    Pharmacological means to accelerate the elimination of Cs-137 introduced into the living organism are studied. Male dd mice and male Wistar rats are individually housed in metal metabolism cages, and provided with commercial solid diet and water. Radioactivity is determined in urine, and feces for 24 hours and 4 days after subcutaneous injection of a tracer dose of Cs/sup 137/Cl, and in various organs after sacrifices at the ends of these periods. Effects of various chemicals on these results are compared. Twenty five chemicals were investigated. They include inorganic Na salts such as Na bicarbonate, Na carbonate, Na suliate, Namore » thiosulfate, primary and secondary Na phosphates, and organic Na salts such as Na lactate, lactated Ringer, Na acetate, Na glucuronate, Na salt of thioctic acid, ATP Na, and Na pentobarbiturate. Na bicarbonate, Na phosphates, Na sulfate, and Na thiosulfate are found as eifective, especially Na bicarbonate, K bicarbonate shows scarcely any effect, nor do other K salts. It is therefore assumed that Cs will exchange with Na ion in the tubular cells. LiCl is found to accelerate the excretion of Cs-137 from mice and rats. This result is of interest with respect to the periodic law, since it is known that for the elimination of Sr-90, Ca salts are ineffective or slightly effective, whereas Mg salts are effective. Of the diuretics, chlorothiazide, which is considered to increase the excretion of K, does nor increase the elimination of Cs-137 in any dose. This result is different from that of Diamox, a diuretic of the same nature. Cardiac glycosides and xanthine derivatives are effective. Out of digitalis preparations, Digitamin (Shionogi), Digilanogen C (Fujisawa), Digosin (Chugai) are effective. Digitoxin and strospeside are ineffective, and after their application, retention of Cs-137 is observed in the heart muscle. G- strophanthin is ineffective in a smaller dose, but increases the elimination of Cs-137 in a larger dose. Caffeine and

  12. Hellebrin and its aglycone form hellebrigenin display similar in vitro growth inhibitory effects in cancer cells and binding profiles to the alpha subunits of the Na+/K+-ATPase

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Surface-expressed Na+/K+-ATPase (NaK) has been suggested to function as a non-canonical cardiotonic steroid-binding receptor that activates multiple signaling cascades, especially in cancer cells. By contrast, the current study establishes a clear correlation between the IC50in vitro growth inhibitory concentration in human cancer cells and the Ki for the inhibition of activity of purified human α1β1 NaK. Methods The in vitro growth inhibitory effects of seven cardiac glycosides including five cardenolides (ouabain, digoxin, digitoxin, gitoxin, uzarigenin-rhamnoside, and their respective aglycone forms) and two bufadienolides (gamabufotalin-rhamnoside and hellebrin, and their respective aglycone forms) were determined by means of the MTT colorimetric assay and hellebrigenin-induced cytotoxic effects were visualized by means of quantitative videomicroscopy. The binding affinity of ten of the 14 compounds under study was determined with respect to human α1β1, α2β1 and α3β1 NaK complexes. Lactate releases and oxygen consumption rates were also determined in cancer cells treated with these various cardiac glycosides. Results Although cardiotonic steroid aglycones usually display weaker binding affinity and in vitro anticancer activity than the corresponding glycoside, the current study demonstrates that the hellebrin / hellebrigenin pair is at odds with respect to this rule. In addition, while some cardiac steroid glycosides (e.g., digoxin), but not the aglycones, display a higher binding affinity for the α2β1 and α3β1 than for the α1β1 complex, both hellebrin and its aglycone hellebrigenin display ~2-fold higher binding affinity for α1β1 than for the α2β1 and α3β1 complexes. Finally, the current study highlights a common feature for all cardiotonic steroids analyzed here, namely a dramatic reduction in the oxygen consumption rate in cardenolide- and bufadienolide-treated cells, reflecting a direct impact on mitochondrial oxidative

  13. Digoxin: placental transfer, effects on the fetus, and therapeutic use in the newborn.

    PubMed

    Soyka, L F

    1975-03-01

    Digoxin rapidly crosses the placenta and reaches equilibrium, with maternal and fetal sera having equal concentrations. Virtually nothing is known about the effects of transplacentally administered digoxin on the fetus. Toxicity has been reported in the fetus of a woman ingesting a huge overdose of digitoxin; the same result would be anticipated with digoxin poisoning. Serum levels in pregnant women receiving the standard dose of 0.25 mg tend to be subnormal and certain patients may require a small increase in dose during the last trimester. While the full-term neonate appears to tolerate relatively high doses and the resultant high serum levels, there is no compelling evidence that such doses are necessary or even useful. Since toxicity can and does occur in neonates, especially during administration of loading (digitalizing) doses, it is recommended that maintenance doses of 0.01 mg per kg per day be used routinely. If the full inotropic effect is needed immediately, a loading dose of 0.03 mg per kg may be employed. Maintenance therapy is then begun on the following day. Without a loading dose cumulation occurs for about 3 days; after 5 or so days, serum levels will equal those found after use of a loading dose followed by maintenance therapy. Results of a single study suggest that the daily dose should be divided and given every 12 hours. After about 1 week of therapy, the serum level should be determined and the dose modified to maintain a serum level of 1 to 2 ng per ml. If the therapeutic effect is less than desired, a cautions increase in dose to as high as 0.02 mg per kg per day or to that dose which produces serum levels up to 3 ng per ml can be tried. Certain infants appear to tolerate serum levels of 3.5 to 4 ng per ml but such infants must be closely monitored. There are no data which indicate that a greater inotropic response will occur at these high serum levels, though this point has not been definitively investigated, and is the highest priority

  14. [Sex, erectile dysfunction, and the heart: a growing problem].

    PubMed

    Görge, Günter; Flüchter, Stephan; Kirstein, Michael; Kunz, Thomas

    2003-06-01

    guanosine monophosphate-(cGMP-)specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE 5), resulting in smooth muscle relaxation, vasodilation, and enhanced penile erection. Reported cardiovascular side effects in healthy males are headache, flushing, and < 10% decreases in systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Significant hypotension can be found in patients who are concurrently taking nitrates. On the basis of the pharmacokinetic profile of sildenafil, the co-administration of a nitrate within the first 24 h is likely to produce a severe, potentially lifethreatening hypotensive response and is therefore contraindicated. The risk of precipitating a cardiotoxic, hypotensive, or hemorrhagic event secondary to combining sildenafil (a PDE 5 inhibitor) with specific PDE 3 inhibitors such as milrinone and enoximone or with nonspecific PDE inhibitors such as theophylline and pentoxifylline is unlikely. Sildenafil is predominantly metabolized by both the P450 2C9 pathway and the P450 3A4 pathway. Thus, potent inhibitors of the P450 3A4 pathway may increase the plasma concentrations of sildenafil, like cimetidine, erythromycin, digitoxin, and CSE inhibitors (simvastatin, atorvastatin, etc.). A creatinine clearance < 30 ml/min also increases plasma levels of sildenafil. Sildenafil is safe in healthy subjects. In a postmarketing study on 6,527 males, no increase of cardiovascular events was found. However, in older males with coronary heart disease, the risk of sildenafil and the risk of physical exercise during sexual intercourse contribute both to fatal outcomes. Of 69 cases reported to the FDA, 46 patients might have had a cardiovascular event, and in twelve a possible interaction with nitrate use has been reported. Sildenafil is absolutely contraindicated in patients taking long-acting nitrates, those with severe aortic stenosis, and patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). No nitrates should be used within 24 h of sildenafil use. Caution is necessary in patients with a