Prevention of sudden cardiac death by the atypical neuroleptic acepromazine following status epilepticus in rats.
Normal male rats in which status epilepticus has been induced by injecting 30 mg/kg of pilocarpine after a single systemic administration of lithium (sufficient to produce blood levels of 0.2 mEq/L) invariably die within 24 hr. Real-time monitoring indicated sudden cardiac death; it was preceded by progressive intensification of arrhythmia. A single systemic injection (25 mg/kg) of the atypical phenothiazine acepromazine prevented the mortality and virtually eliminated the cardiac instability.
Harrigan
T
T
Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario.
Bureau
Y R
YR
Persinger
M A
MA
Parker
G H
GH
D000075:Acepromazine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D003645:Death, Sudden; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006339:Heart Rate; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1 / Q000502:physiology; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000150:complications*
D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1; D000075:Acepromazine