cinnarizine and Hypertension

Increased pressure, as may occur with hypertension, may alter cellular function by inducing repetitive mechanical strain. However, increased pressure itself may directly alter cellular function independent of stretching of cells. We undertook the present study to determine whether increased applied pressure could alter uptake of IgG complexes by macrophages. Increased pressure was applied to confluent macrophages grown on plastic culture plates using a pressure chamber apparatus kept inside the incubator at 37 degrees C and pressure regulated using a rotator pump and adjustable outlet valve. Macrophages that were subjected to increased pressure were found to have a significantly greater uptake of IgG complexes in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of increased pressure could be abrogated by carrying out experiments in calcium-free medium while this exerted no effect on uptake by macrophages under control conditions. Increased uptake of IgG complexes by macrophages subjected to increased applied pressure could also be attenuated by incubation with the calcium channel blockers amlodipine and cinnarizine. To determine whether the effect of increased pressure was related to the plastic substrate on which the cells are grown, cells were also seeded onto type I collagen gels and uptake of IgG complexes was measured. Uptake by macrophages on the type I collagen substrate was significantly enhanced with increased applied pressure compared to control (p < 0.01). These studies demonstrate that exposure of macrophages to increased pressure enhances their uptake of IgG complexes via a mechanism that appears to involve an increase in intracellular calcium. This effect might play a role in some of the consequences of systemic arterial and glomerular capillary hypertension.

Topics: Amlodipine; Antigen-Antibody Complex; Calcium; Cell Line; Cinnarizine; Humans; Hypertension; Immunoglobulin G; Macrophages; Stress, Physiological

A single-dose cinnarizine (25 and 75 mg) was compared to its course administration (75 and 225 mg/day) in 35 patients with circulatory encephalopathy. Upon a 3-fold increase in conventional doses, there appeared more profound clinical, vasomotor cerebral and functional cerebral effects as evidenced by EEG and neuropsychological tests.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Cinnarizine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Evaluation; Electroencephalography; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Intracranial Arteriosclerosis; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests

Forty-one patients (21 males and 20 females) suffering from arterial hypertension associated with peripheral and cerebral vascular distress were treated for a period of 60 days with an extempore combination of labetalol (an antihypertensive drug with an alpha- and beta-blocking action) and flunarizine (a calcium-antagonist). Changes in supine and standing arterial blood pressure and in supine heart rate were evaluated periodically. Haematological and urinary controls of a number of biomedical indices were performed in basal conditions and after 60 days. The combination was found to show a rapid efficacy in the entire patient group: both supine and standing systolic and diastolic blood were significantly reduced as early as the tenth day of treatment. No significant changes in heart rate were observed. The combination revealed neither orthostatic hypotensive effects nor side-effects of such a degree of severity as to require reduction of the dose or discontinuation of the treatment.

Topics: Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; Adult; Aged; Blood Pressure; Calcium Channel Blockers; Cinnarizine; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ethanolamines; Female; Flunarizine; Heart Rate; Humans; Hypertension; Labetalol; Male; Middle Aged; Piperazines; Vascular Diseases

A comparison was made of the inhibition by cinnarizine, a calcium antagonist, of the contractile responses of aortic, carotid, and iliac arterial strips and vasa deferentia from 15- to 17-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their normotensive counterparts, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. KCl-induced responses of the aorta from both strains of rats and carotid arteries from WKY only were more sensitive to inhibition than were responses to norepinephrine. No significant differences were observed in the inhibition of tissue responses from the two strains of rats with the exception of the K+-induced responses of carotid arterial strips from SHR which were significantly less sensitive to inhibition when compared with carotid strips from WKY.

Topics: Animals; Blood Pressure; Cinnarizine; Hypertension; In Vitro Techniques; Muscle Contraction; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Norepinephrine; Piperazines; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

In 48 cases with well-documented retinal vasculopathy, the therapeutic effect of cinnarizine and flunarizine over a period of several months to 3 years has been clinically evaluated. Objective measurements comprised determination of visual field and acuity, funduscopy, three-mirror funduscopy, and fluorangiography with determination of capillary leakage and circulation time. The most prominent features were disappearance of cotton wool nodules, improvement of visual function and capillary perfusion, inhibition of capillary leakage, and a positive hemokinetic effect in arteriolar, capillary, and venous beds. Degeneration of post-ganglionic fibers was partly restored. In some patients with glaucoma, the aspect of the optic disc was normalized. It is concluded that selective calcium-entry-blockers clearly improve tissue perfusion in ischemic areas.

Topics: Adult; Arterioles; Autonomic Fibers, Postganglionic; Calcium Channel Blockers; Capillaries; Cinnarizine; Diabetic Retinopathy; Female; Flunarizine; Fluorescein Angiography; Humans; Hypertension; Ischemia; Male; Middle Aged; Optic Disk; Retinal Artery; Retinal Vein; Venules

Topics: Angiotensins; Anti-Allergic Agents; Antihypertensive Agents; Antimetabolites; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Cinnarizine; Guinea Pigs; Histamine H1 Antagonists; Hypertension; Norepinephrine; Pharmacology; Rabbits; Rats; Research; Respiratory Insufficiency