Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
. 1981 Sep;12(3):345–348. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1981.tb01224.x

Circulatory and metabolic effects of a combined alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blocker (labetalol) in hypertension of pregnancy.

N O Lunell, P Hjemdahl, B B Fredholm, H Nisell, B Persson, J Wager
PMCID: PMC1401807  PMID: 7295464

Abstract

1 Seven women with hypertension of pregnancy were given the combined alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blocking drug labetalol (50 mg i.v.) in their last trimester. Acute effects were studied for 3 h after administration. 2 Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly reduced from 143 +/- 4 (s.e. mean) to 127 +/- 5 mmHg and from 101 +/- 2 to 88 +/- 2 mmHg, respectively. Maternal heart rate fell significantly from 77 +/- 5 to 68 +/- 3 beats/min. The changes remained during the 3 h of observation. Foetal heart rate was not affected. No side-effects were encountered. 3 Plasma noradrenaline increased significantly from 1.54 +/- 0.16 to a peak value of 2.37 +/- 0.41 nmol/l suggesting sympathetic activation following labetalol. Plasma adrenaline levels were essentially unchanged. Plasma glucose, insulin and C-peptide showed only minor changes. No major effects on lipid metabolism were seen except a significant fall of nonesterified fatty acids at 60 min. Plasma cyclic AMP increased significantly throughout the observation period, perhaps indicating beta-adrenoceptor agonist activity of labetalol. 4 The effectiveness of labetalol as an acute hypertensive agent together with apparent absence of metabolic disturbances and other side-effects makes it an interesting drug for the treatment of hypertension during pregnancy.

Full text

PDF
345

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Carey B., Whalley E. T. Beta-adrenoceptor agonist activity of labetolol on the isolated uterus of the rat. Br J Pharmacol. 1979 Sep;67(1):13–15. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Christensen N. J., Trap-Jensen J., Svendsen T. L., Rasmussen S., Nielsen P. E. Effect of labetalol on plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline in hypertensive man. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1978 Dec 1;14(4):227–230. doi: 10.1007/BF00560454. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cope C. L., Loizou S. Deoxycorticosterone excretion in normal, hypertensive and hypokalaemic subjects. Clin Sci Mol Med. 1975 Feb;48(2):97–105. doi: 10.1042/cs0480097. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Eliahou H. E., Silverberg D. S., Reisin E., Romem I., Mashiach S., Serr D. M. Propranolol for the treatment of hypertension in pregnancy. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1978 Jun;85(6):431–436. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1978.tb14909.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fredholm B. B., Lunell N. O., Persson B., Wager J. Actions of salbutamol in late pregnancy: plasma cyclic AMP, insulin and C-peptide, carbohydrate and lipid metabolites in diabetic and non-diabetic women. Diabetologia. 1978 Apr;14(4):235–242. doi: 10.1007/BF01219422. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gallery E. D., Saunders D. M., Hunyor S. N., Györy A. Z. Randomised comparison of methyldopa and oxprenolol for treatment of hypertension in pregnancy. Br Med J. 1979 Jun 16;1(6178):1591–1594. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6178.1591. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Ginsburg J., Duncan S. L. Peripheral circulation in hypertensive pregnancy. Cardiovasc Res. 1967 Oct;1(4):356–361. doi: 10.1093/cvr/1.4.356. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hjemdahl P., Daleskog M., Kahan T. Determination of plasma catecholamines by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection: comparison with a radioenzymatic method. Life Sci. 1979 Jul 9;25(2):131–138. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(79)90384-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Ladner C., Brinkman C. R., 3rd, Weston P., Assali N. S. Dynamics of uterine circulation in pregnant and nonpregnant sheep. Am J Physiol. 1970 Jan;218(1):257–263. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1970.218.1.257. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lamming G. D., Symonds E. B. Use of labetalol and methyldopa in pregnancy-induced hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1979;8(Suppl 2):217S–222S. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lieberman B. A., Stirrat G. M., Cohen S. L., Beard R. W., Pinker G. D., Belsey E. The possible adverse effect of propranolol on the fetus in pregnancies complicated by severe hypertension. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1978 Sep;85(9):678–683. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1978.tb14946.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. McNeil J. J., Anderson A. E., Louis W. J., Morgan D. J. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic studies of labetalol in hypertensive subjects. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1979;8(Suppl 2):157S–161S. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Michael C. A. Use of labetalol in the treatment of severe hypertension during pregnancy. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1979;8(Suppl 2):211S–215S. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Pruyn S. C., Phelan J. P., Buchanan G. C. Long-term propranolol therapy in pregnancy: maternal and fetal outcome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1979 Oct 15;135(4):485–489. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(79)90436-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Richards D. A., Prichard B. N. Clinical pharmacology of labetalol. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1979;8(Suppl 2):89S–93S. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Riley A. J. Some further evidence for partial agonist activity of labetalol. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1980 May;9(5):517–518. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1980.tb05849.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sandström B. Antihypertensive treatment with the adrenergic beta-receptor blocker metoprolol during pregnancy. Gynecol Invest. 1978;9(4):195–204. doi: 10.1159/000300984. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tcherdakoff P. H., Colliard M., Berrard E., Kreft C., Dupay A., Bernaille J. M. Propranolol in hypertension during pregnancy. Br Med J. 1978 Sep 2;2(6138):670–670. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6138.670. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology are provided here courtesy of British Pharmacological Society

RESOURCES