title: Comparative effects of the antimigraine drugs sumatriptan and ergotamine on the distribution of cardiac output in anaesthetized pigs.
abstract: The haemodynamic effects of sumatriptan, a 5-HT1-like receptor agonist, and ergotamine, an agonist at alpha-adrenergic, dopamine as well as 5-HT receptors, were compared using intracardiac injection of radioactive microspheres of different sizes in anaesthetized pigs. Ergotamine (0.02 mg.kg-1) and sumatriptan (0.3 mg.kg-1) decreased systemic vascular conductance and cardiac output. Only ergotamine raised arterial blood pressure. Both sumatriptan and ergotamine decreased arteriovenous anastomotic, but not capillary, blood flow in the head and body skin. Arteriovenous and capillary blood flow in the dura mater and nasal mucosa and capillary blood flow in the brain, kidneys, adrenals, intestine, heart, spleen and muscle remained unchanged. However, kidney conductance was decreased by both drugs, spleen conductance by sumatriptan and heart, liver and adrenal conductances were decreased by ergotamine. Thus, both sumatriptan and ergotamine constricted arteriovenous anastomoses in the skin, but not in the dura mater or nasal mucosa. Ergotamine constricted the vasculature more than sumatriptan, although both drugs may differentially decrease vascular conductances in some organs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Den Boer
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Somers
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Saxena
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000187:drug effects; D001785:Blood Gas Monitoring, Transcutaneous; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004878:Ergotamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018170:Sumatriptan; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D007211:Indoles; D013449:Sulfonamides; D018170:Sumatriptan; D004878:Ergotamine