This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1074248409333855v1 14/2/134    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Sethi, R. Articles by Dhalla, N. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sethi, R. Articles by Dhalla, N. S. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Modification of Epinephrine-induced Arrhythmias by N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine and Vitamin E

Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, Texas A&M Health Science Centre, Kingsville, Texas

Adriana Adameova, PhD, PharmD

Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Ken S. Dhalla, DGSc

Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, nsdhalla{at}sbrc.ca

Mohsin Khan, BSc

Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Vijayan Elimban, PhD

Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Naranjan S. Dhalla, PhD, MD

Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated for 21 days with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) or vitamin E to investigate their influence on arrhythmias induced by a bolus injection or by cumulative doses of epinephrine. Electrocardiographic analysis revealed that both NAC and vitamin E decreased the duration and increased the time of onset of epinephrine-induced arrhythmias in a dose-dependent manner. The antiarrhythmic effects of NAC were comparable with those seen in the vitamin E-pretreated animals. The lipid peroxidation due to cumulative doses of epinephrine was reduced in both pretreated groups; however, NAC, unlike vitamin E, failed to decrease the basal level of malondialdehyde. Although the plasma concentrations of both norepinephrine and epinephrine were markedly increased, the level of aminochromes on epinephrine administration was decreased by both NAC and vitamin E pretreatments. The results support the view that antioxidants may prevent the catecholamine-induced heart rhythm disorders by reducing the formation of oxidized catecholamines.

Key Words: Catecholamine-induced arrhythmias • Nacetyl-L-cysteine • vitamin E • aminochromes • oxidation products of catecholamines

This version was published on June 1, 2009

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Vol. 14, No. 2, 134-142 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1074248409333855


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?