These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Effect of clonidine on induced cough and bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs and healthy humans.
    Author: O'Connell F, Thomas VE, Fuller RW, Pride NB, Karlsson JA.
    Journal: J Appl Physiol (1985); 1994 Mar; 76(3):1082-7. PubMed ID: 8005849.
    Abstract:
    We examined the effects of the alpha 2-receptor agonist clonidine, administered orally and by inhalation, on citric acid- and capsaicin-induced reflexes in guinea pigs and healthy human subjects. In groups (n = 8-10) of conscious guinea pigs, oral clonidine (10 and 100 micrograms/kg) was without effects, whereas inhaled clonidine (10-1,000 microM) caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of citric acid-induced cough (coughs during 3 min: control, 6.5 +/- 0.9; 1,000 microM clonidine, 1.7 +/- 1.0; P < 0.05) and reflex bronchoconstriction (time to onset of bronchoconstriction: control, 191 +/- 24 s; 1,000 microM clonidine, 317 +/- 33 s; P < 0.05). The inhibitory effect of inhaled clonidine on both reflexes was completely reversed by pretreatment with yohimbine but not with prazosin. In 12 healthy human volunteers, oral clonidine (150 mg) caused a significant fall in supine and erect systolic blood pressure and a significant increase in drowsiness as measured on a visual analogue scale 1 and 2 h after administration. Despite these effects, oral clonidine had no effect on capsaicin-induced cough or reflex bronchoconstriction in humans. In contrast to the effects in guinea pigs, inhaled clonidine (281 microM) had no effect on capsaicin-induced cough or reflex bronchoconstriction in humans. These data suggest that peripheral alpha 2-receptors exert an inhibitory effect on sensory neurotransmission in the guinea pig but not in the healthy human airway, indicating an important difference between the two species.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]