title: Vagolytic atropine attenuates cerebral vasodilation response during acute orthostatic hypotension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atropine is an anticholinergic drug which is commonly used in clinical practice. The effect of parasympathetic block with atropine on dynamic cerebrovascular regulation remains unclear. This study was aimed to identify effects of vagolytic atropine on cerebrovascular response during acute orthostatic hypotension in humans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Continuous middle cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV, transcranial Doppler) and arterial blood pressure (ABP, Finometer) were measured during a sit-to-stand procedure in 10 healthy subjects with placebo and vagolytic (10 µg/kg) doses of atropine. Cerebral vascular tone was assessed by cerebrovascular resistance (CVR = ABP / CBFV). Dynamic cerebral autoregulation was also assessed by transfer function analysis of ABP and CBFV.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the standing session, ABP fell to a similar extent in both groups by an average of 23 to 25 mmHg (26% to 29%). CBFV also fell in all subjects but significantly more in vagolytic atropine (-15.0 ± 7.0 cm/s) compared with placebo (-12.0 ± 5.8 cm/s, P < 0.05). CVR was decreased significantly in the placebo group during posture change (1.56 ± 0.44 vs. 1.38 ± 0.38, P < 0.05), in contrast, lesser decreased in the atropine group (1.60 ± 0.50 vs. 1.53 ± 0.42, P = 0.193). Transfer function coherence in the very-low-frequency range was significantly increased in the atropine group during the standing session (0.55 ± 0.14), compared with the sitting session (0.45 ± 0.14, P = 0.006).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data present that vagolytic atropine attenuates cerebral vasodilation response to acute orthostatic hypotension, suggesting the use of atropine may need care in patients with cerebrovascular disease with vagal impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Laboratory for Cardiovascular Dynamics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Woo-Jong
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Kichang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Laboratory for Cardiovascular Dynamics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Kug
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, VHS Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyo-Joon
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Laboratory for Cardiovascular Dynamics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Moon
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Laboratory for Cardiovascular Dynamics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Gyu-Sam
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Hwang
keywords: Atropine; Autoregulation; Cerebral blood flow; Orthostatic hypotension