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Ischemia-induced conduction delay and ventricular arrhythmias: comparative electropharmacology of bethanidine sulfate and bretylium tosylate.

Bretylium tosylate and bethanidine sulfate were studied in two models of experimental myocardial ischemia. In anesthetized dogs, left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion during rapid atrial pacing (180-200 min-1) produced ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation within 5 min in 9 of 11 dogs studied. In all cases, arrhythmias were preceded by and appeared to be temporally related to progressive fractionation and delay of electrograms recorded from the ischemic zone. In four dogs, bretylium (10 mg/kg) did not alter the time course of electrogram changes nor the time to onset of arrhythmia. However, in five dogs bethanidine (10 mg/kg) markedly exacerbated conduction changes in the ischemic zone and decreased the time to onset of ventricular arrhythmias (173 +/- 35 vs. 262 +/- 34 s control, mean +/- SEM, p less than 0.05). Bethanidine administration also facilitated ischemia-induced ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation in two dogs that did not exhibit ischemia-induced arrhythmias before receiving the drug. In isolated perfused rabbit hearts, global ischemia produced conduction slowing, depolarization of resting membrane potential, and decreases in amplitude and Vmax that were reproducible in serial 10 min ischemic episodes. Bretylium (10 mg/L) did not affect these parameters under either perfused or ischemic conditions. Although bethanidine (10 mg/L) also did not affect these parameters during perfusion, conduction slowing and depression of Vmax during ischemia were accelerated without affecting the time course of change in resting membrane potential. Both bretylium and bethanidine prolonged action potential duration under perfused conditions, but after 10 min of ischemia this effect was no longer evident. The results demonstrate that differences in the electrophysiologic effects of bretylium and bethanidine are markedly accentuated in the setting of acute ischemia. Although both these agents have been demonstrated to have antifibrillatory effects in other experimental settings, under the conditions of this study, bretylium failed to protect against ischemia-induced arrhythmias and acute bethanidine administration produced a proarrhythmic effect in association with an exacerbation of ischemia-induced conduction changes.

Action Potentials↗

Prevention of chronic canine ventricular tachyarrhythmias with bretylium tosylate.

The ability of chronic bretylium tosylate treatment to prevent the induction of ventricular tachycardia was assessed in the conscious dog subjected to serial programmed ventricular stimulation on days 3-6 after acute myocardial infarction. In 34 untreated control dogs, programmed ventricular stimulation produced nonsustained ventricular tachycardia in 11 dogs (32%), sustained ventricular tachycardia in 10 (29%), and ventricular fibrillation in 10 (29%) on the third and fourth day after occlusion and reperfusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Bretylium tosylate, 5 mg/kg i.v., was given every 12 hours to a separate group of seven dogs after the induction of ischemic myocardial injury. Programmed ventricular stimulation on the third and fourth days after the induction of myocardial ischemic injury failed to elicit ventricular arrhythmias. Induction of arrhythmias by programmed electrical stimulation could be induced in each of the seven dogs; however, 36 hours after discontinuing bretylium tosylate, two dogs (29%) had non-sustained ventricular tachycardia and five (71%) had sustained ventricular tachycardia. When retested at 60 hours after withdrawal of bretylium tosylate, five (71%) had sustained ventricular tachycardia and two (28%) developed ventricular fibrillation. Readministration of bretylium tosylate (5 mg/kg, i.v.) to four of the five surviving dogs prevented the induction of ventricular arrhythmias in response to programmed ventricular stimulation. The results of these investigations suggest that bretylium tosylate may be effective in preventing the onset of reentrant ventricular rhythms after myocardial ischemic damage, and therefore may be of value in preventing sudden coronary death.

Animals↗

Stability and visual compatibility of bretylium tosylate with selected large-volume parenterals and additives.

The stability of bretylium tosylate when mixed with large-volume parenteral (LVP) solutions was assessed over a four-week period, and the compatibility of bretylium tosylate when mixed with eight frequently used drugs was evaluated. Bretylium tosylate admixtures of approximately 1 mg/ml were prepared in both polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bags and glass bottles of 5% dextrose injection, 0.9% sodium chloride injection, and lactated Ringer's injection. The admixtures were examined visually and stored for four weeks at 25 +/- 0.5 degree C under fluorescent light. The concentrations of bretylium tosylate were determined spectrophotometrically at times 0.25, 0.5, 1, 3, 8, 24, and 48 hours and twice weekly thereafter for four weeks. Spectrophotometric assays were confirmed with high-pressure liquid chromatography. Admixtures of bretylium tosylate were prepared with aminophylline, calcium gluconate, digoxin, regular insulin, lidocaine hydrochloride, phenytoin sodium, procainamide hydrochloride, and quinidine gluconate in 5% dextrose injection and 0.9% sodium chloride injection. The admixtures were examined visually for 48 hours. The concentration of bretylium tosylate did not change appreciably during the four-week study period. There were no signs of haze, precipitation, color change, or evolution of gas. There were no apparent differences in stability when comparing the glass with the PVC containers. Bretylium tosylate was also found to be compatible with all the additives tested except phenytoin sodium; a precipitate formed immediately when the latter drug was added to the bretylium tosylate solution. Bretylium tosylate was stable for four weeks in the LVP solutions studied in both glass and PVC containers. The admixtures of bretylium sodium with the other drugs were all visually compatible except those containing phenytoin sodium.

Bretylium Compounds↗

Bretylium tosylate enhances salt taste.

Bretylium tosylate (BT), an antifibrillary drug, was found to potentiate the taste of NaCl and LiCl in both humans and rats. Application of 1 mM BT (pH 6.3) to the human tongue statistically potentiated the taste of 0.2 M NaCl and 0.2 M LiCl by 33.5% and 12.5% respectively. Electrophysiological taste responses from nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) in rat for both hyposmotic and hyperosmotic concentrations of NaCl and 0.1 M LiCl were also increased by 30 to 40% after application of 1 mM BT. This potentiation induced by BT was reduced by amiloride in both humans and rats. Furthermore, amiloride became ineffective in inhibiting taste responses to NaCl in the presence of BT.

Adolescent↗

Pharmacokinetics of [14C]bretylium tosylate in rats.

The pharmacokinetics of bretylium tosylate were investigated in eight male Charles River rats. Each animal received an intravenous dose (10 mg/kg) of [14C)bretylium tosylate. Serial blood samples, urine, and feces were collected for up to 72 hr. Bretylium concentrations in plasma and amounts excreted in urine and feces were determined by scintillation counting. On the average, 88 and 95% of the dose were recovered in urine and feces in 24 and 72 hr, respectively. Urinary recovery accounted for 65.6 of the dose while 29.7% was excreted in the feces. Bretylium concentrations in plasma declined triexponentially and were fitted to a three-compartment open model. Bretylium has a very high apparent volume of distribution (15 liters/kg), and its beta half-life averaged 5.5 hr. Mean values of the apparent volume of the central compartment, plasma clearance, renal clearance, and excretion rate constants of bretylium in rats were 1 liter/kg, 1.93 liters/hr/kg, 1.27 liters/hr/kg, and 1.24 hr-1, respectively. The results indicate that: (a) bretylium is strongly bound to the tissues and is eliminated by active urinary secretion and by biliary excretion in rats, and (b) there are strong similarities between the pharmacokinetics of bretylium in humans and rats and that this animal model might be suitable for interaction studies with other drugs.

Animals↗

The influence of bretylium tosylate on the intraocular pressure of the rabbit.

Bretylium tosylate was applied topically and intravitreously to rabbit eyes. The topical application of 1, 2, 5 and 10% bretylium tosylate gave a small but significant decrease of the intraocular pressure 6 hrs after treatment. The effects had disappeared, when the eyes were re-examined after 24 hrs. The intravitreous injection of 200 mug of bretylium tosylate caused a more pronounced and prolonged pressure decrease. The results are interpreted in the light of chemical sympathectomy.

Animals↗

ELectrophysiologic properties of bretylium tosylate on atrial myocardium.

The antifibrillatory property of bretylium tosylate was first observed in experimental atrial fibrillation, yet the cellular basis for this phenomenon has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the electrophysiologic properties of bretylium tosylate on guinea pig atrial myocardium in the presence and absence of cholinergic influence. Bretylium (10(-6) M - 10(-4) M) produced a concentration-dependent prolongation of atrial action potential duration with a threshold concentration of 10(-5) M. This direct effect of bretylium was unaltered by blockade of beta-adrenergic receptors with propranolol (10(-6) M) or blockade of alpha-adrenergic receptors with phentolamine (10(-6) M). In a second series of experiments the muscarinic receptor blocking properties of bretylium were determined. Acetylcholine produced a concentration-dependent shortening of action potential duration in paced (200 ms) left atrial muscle strips. This well-recognized muscarinic effect was unaltered in the presence of bretylium (10(-6) M - 10(-3) M). These data indicate that bretylium tosylate physiologically exerts direct effects on the atrial myocardium to prolong action potential duration. This compound does not appear to physiologically antagonize the effects of acetylcholine and therefore its reported atrial antiarrhythmic properties cannot be explained by muscarinic receptor blockade.

Acetylcholine↗

Inactivation of acetylcholinesterase with a bretylium tosylate photoaffinity probe.

Azidobretylium tosylate (ABT), the p-azido analogue of bretylium tosylate, has been synthesized to serve as a photoaffinity probe for bretylium binding sites. Bretylium tosylate has antiarrhythmic action and also interacts with amiloride-sensitive sodium ion transport sites. Acetylcholinesterase was used as a model protein, and both bretylium and ABT are reversible inhibitors of this enzyme. The kinetic inhibition constants (Ki) were determined to be 40 microM for bretylium tosylate and 6 microM for ABT. The azido compound is photochemically labile and apparently irreversibly inactivates the enzyme. The rate was retarded by the addition of bretylium tosylate or 4-oxo-N,N,N-trimethylpentanaminium iodide (OTI). Sephadex G-25 chromatography further demonstrated the irreversible nature of the photoinactivation. Since ABT binds at or near the acetylcholinesterase active site, it may be a useful probe for the characterization of the enzyme active site.

Affinity Labels↗

Bretylium tosylate versus lidocaine in experimental cardiac arrest.

Bretylium tosylate has been shown effective in the treatment of ventricular fibrillation and in the prevention of its recurrence. However, lidocaine is generally preferred because bretylium could have adverse hemodynamic effects related to its antiadrenergic action. To explore further the differences between these two antiarrhythmic agents, the authors compared the effects of bretylium, lidocaine, and saline on a standardized dog model of ventricular fibrillation followed by electromechanical dissociation (EMD). The protocol included three successive episodes of cardiac arrest in each animal. Three minutes before each episode of ventricular fibrillation, 5 mg/kg of bretylium tosylate (n = 11), 1 mg/kg of lidocaine (n = 9) or saline (n = 12) were administered blindly. There was no difference in the duration of cardiac arrest (bretylium, 8 min 18 sec; lidocaine, 7 min 54 sec; saline, 8 min 20 sec) or the total doses of epinephrine required to resuscitate the animals. Both bretylium and lidocaine appeared to preserve cardiac function 5 minutes after recovery, as stroke volume increased from 17.8 +/- 6.7 to 18.7 +/- 6.7 mL (NS) after bretylium and from 17.7 +/- 7.7 to 19.0 +/- 7.0 mL (NS) after lidocaine, but decreased from 19.0 +/- 5.3 to 14.6 +/- 6.0 mL (P less than .05) after saline. During the first 10 minutes of EMD, ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia recurred in 4 dogs treated with lidocaine, 3 dogs treated with saline, but no dog treated with bretylium (P less than .05 between bretylium and saline).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Electrophysiologic effects of bretylium tosylate on the canine heart during coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion.

The electrophysiologic and antiarrhythmic actions of bretylium tosylate were studied after acute coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion in pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs. Three groups of animals were studied: Group I (n = 8) served as saline controls, Group II (n = 7) received bretylium tosylate (10 mg/kg i.v.) 60 min prior to coronary artery occlusion, and Group III (n = 5) received bretylium tosylate (30 mg/kg i.v.) in three divided doses over the 24 h prior to coronary artery occlusion. In Groups II and III the effective refractory period of the nonischemic myocardium was not altered by bretylium before or during the occlusion period, nor was it influenced by bretylium during the subsequent reperfusion period. In Group I the effective refractory period of the ischemic myocardium decreased 24 +/- 3.0% after coronary occlusion and increased 12 +/- 3% above the preocclusion level on reperfusion. In Group II the effective refractory period of the ischemic myocardium decreased 28 +/- 3.2% after coronary occlusion but did not overshoot preischemic levels on reperfusion. In Group III the effective refractory period decreased 15 +/- 3.8% following coronary occlusion and did not overshoot preocclusion levels during reperfusion. The ventricular activation times of the normal and ischemic myocardium were not affected by bretylium tosylate during occlusion or reperfusion in Group II or III. Significant reperfusion arrhythmias were observed only in Groups I and II. These data suggest that bretylium tosylate exerts its antiarrhythmic actions in ischemic myocardium by reducing the dispersion of cardiac refractoriness produced by coronary artery occlusion and, consequently, abolishing the abrupt change in cardiac refractoriness that follows coronary artery reperfusion. These antiarrhythmic actions of bretylium are pronounced in the chronically treated group, suggesting an electrophysiologic basis of the delayed antiarrhythmic actions of bretylium.

Animals↗

Bretylium tosylate intravenous admixture compatibility. I: Stability in common large-volume parenteral solutions.

The stability of bretylium tosylate in 11 common large-volume parenteral solutions was studied. Two containers of each solution, one glass and one plastic (except for mannitol and sodium bicarbonate solutions, which were available in glass only), were stored at each of the following conditions: intense light (1400-2000 foot candles), ambient room temperature with normal light, 40 degrees C, and 4 degrees C. All samples were tested at 0 and 24 hours; some samples were also tested at 48 hours and 7 days. Testing included measurement for optical density at 4000 and 600 nm, pH level, and bretylium content as determined by HPLC. The admixtures remained clear and colorless, except that mannitol precipitated out of mannitol solutions stored at 4 degrees C. No appreciable changes in pH were observed. HPLC assays showed no significant changes in bretylium tosylate concentrations. Bretylium tosylate is compatible with each of the 11 common intravenous solutions chosen for investigation under the storage conditions studied. Admixtures with mannitol should not be refrigerated, because mannitol crystallizes from solution at refrigerator temperatures.

Bretylium Compounds↗

Bretylium tosylate binds preferentially to muscarinic receptors labelled with [3H]oxotremorine M (SH or 'high affinity' receptors) in rat heart and brain cortex.

Bretylium tosylate is an antiarrhythmic agent. In guinea pig atria it showed the properties of a competitive muscarinic (cholinergic) antagonist and could distinguish between two muscarinic receptor classes or states in cardiac membranes. We decided to further investigate its binding properties at muscarinic cholinergic receptors of the rat heart and brain (cortex), keeping in mind the recently discovered heterogeneity of muscarinic receptor protein. Bretylium tosylate recognized two receptor classes or states in the heart with Ki values of 0.9 and 11 microM. All cardiac membrane receptors showed a homogeneous (11 microM) Ki value for the drug in the presence of GTP in the incubation medium, or after in vivo pretreatment with islet activating protein (IAP). Bretylium tosylate was able (but only at a high concentration, 1 mM) to slow the dissociation kinetics of the tracer, which suggests that it also bound to an allosteric site on the muscarinic receptor, or that it affected the receptor environment. In the brain cortex, as in the heart, bretylium tosylate displayed a high affinity for receptors labelled with the agonist [3H]oxotremorine M (Ki value: 0.8 microM for the SH-or cardiac-type high-affinity receptors), and a 8- to 10-fold lower affinity for cortex M and L receptors. These data suggest that the antagonist bretylium tosylate had binding properties in rat cardiac membranes analogous to those of the partial agonist pilocarpine and that it interacted with a single type of receptor.

Animals↗

Bretylium tosylate and electrically induced cardiac arrhythmias during hypothermia in dogs.

The effect of bretylium tosylate on plasma catecholamines and on electrically induced arrhythmias was evaluated in anesthetized hypothermic dogs. Bretylium at a dose of 7.5 mg/kg was administered prior to cooling from 37 degrees C to 27 degrees C. During cooling, the ventricular arrhythmia threshold (VAT) in control animals decreased from 10.1 +/- 1.9 to 4.4 +/- 1.3 impulses, while the VAT in bretylium-treated animals increased from 9.8 +/- 2.9 to 23.2 +/- 2.7 impulses. Catecholamine levels increased during cooling in all animals. In control animals, the epinephrine/norepinephrine ratio was unchanged, but in animals treated with bretylium tosylate, the ratio increased more than 10-fold (from 0.48 +/- 0.1 to 5.49 +/- 0.32 at 29.9 degrees C). The demonstrated increase in catecholamine levels during hypothermia suggests that the protection offered by bretylium tosylate against cardiac arrhythmias is not explained by modification of catecholamine levels, and is more likely due to an alteration of the electrophysiologic properties of cardiac tissues.

Animals↗

Bretylium tosylate: a review.

The chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical uses, adverse effects, drug interactions and dosage of bretylium tosylate, a recently approved antiarrhythmic agent, are reviewed. Bretylium tosylate is used to treat life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, principally ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia, that have not responded to treatment with first-line antiarrhythmic agents. The drug has a direct positive inotropic effect on the myocardium and blocking effect on postganglionic sympathetic nerve transmission. The drug is poorly absorbed orally, requiring either i.m. or i.v. administration. Drug excretion occurs primarily through the kidney, necessitating dosage modification in renal disease. Hypotension is the most commonly observed adverse reaction to bretylium tosylate. Rapid i.v. administration may cause severe nausea and vomiting, and i.m. injection at the same site may cause atrophy and necrosis of muscle tissue. Quinidine and procainamide may potentiate the hypotensive effects of bretylium. Bretylium will aggravate digitalis-induced arrhythmias. Bretylium's use in resistant ventricular tachyarrhythmias requires close clinical monitoring.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗

Massive intravenous bolus bretylium tosylate.

A 30 mg/kg (2-gm) intravenous bolus of bretylium tosylate was administered to a patient with recurrent ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation. After successful defibrillation the patient exhibited marked hypertension followed by protracted refractory hypotension. There was no further ventricular ectopy in spite of a very low cardiac index. A bretylium level of 8,800 ng/ml is the highest reported in man from a single bolus injection. This case demonstrates the exaggerated hemodynamic response to massive intravenous bolus bretylium tosylate.

Bretylium Compounds↗

Effects of bretylium tosylate on voltage-gated potassium channels in human T lymphocytes.

Using the patch-clamp technique, we determined that bretylium tosylate, a quaternary ammonium compound possessing immunomodulating activity, decreased the whole-cell K+ current in human T lymphocytes, in a dose-dependent manner, in the 0.05-5 mM extracellular concentration range. Bretylium tosylate prolonged the recovery from inactivation and accelerated the inactivation and deactivation of the K+ current but did not influence the kinetics of activation or the voltage dependence of activation and steady state inactivation of the K+ conductance. The percentage of drug-induced block was independent of membrane potential. K+ channel block by bretylium tosylate was partially and slowly removable by washing with drug-free extracellular solution. Bovine serum albumin (10 mg/ml) in the bath lifted the drug-induced block almost instantaneously, although not completely. In control experiments bovine serum albumin increased the inactivation time constant of the K+ channels but left the peak K+ current amplitude unaffected. On the basis of the experimental evidence, a gating-dependent allosteric interaction is suggested for the mechanism of drug action. The effective dose range, time of exposure, and reversibility of bretylium tosylate-induced K+ channel block correlated well with the same parameters of the drug-induced inhibition of T lymphocyte activation. The reported effects of bretylium tosylate on T cell mitogenesis can be regarded partly as a consequence of its blocking effects on voltage-gated K+ channels.

Bretylium Tosylate↗

[Clinical experiences with bretylium tosylate].

Because of its antiarrhythmic and antifibrillatory qualities as well as its positively inotropic effect bretylium tosylate increasingly finds interest. The first results of a clinical and haemodynamical mechanocardiographic investigation with bretylium tosylate are presented. In doses between 1.6 and 6.2 mg/kg body weight intravenously and intramuscularly after an initial increase of blood pressure a clear decrease of the systolic system blood pressure develops. The resistance of the peripheral vessels decreases by 10 to 20%. It is an increase of the heart index and the stroke volume index by 10 to 30% to be proved as an expression of a positively inotropic effect. In orientating investigations the antiarrhythmic effect could be confirmed. The side-effects observed cause us to give a strong indication and to observe the patients carefully. The main area of application of bretylium tosylate might be seen in the possibility to achieve a pharmacological defibrillation of the ventricles.

Adult↗