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British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
. 1983 Aug;16(2):167–174. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1983.tb04981.x

An assessment of physiological finger tremor as an indicator of beta-adrenoceptor function.

J M Arnold, D G McDevitt
PMCID: PMC1427990  PMID: 6311233

Abstract

Physiological finger tremor has been assessed as an indicator of beta-adrenoceptor function. Tremor was not correlated with the sex, age, weight or height of the subjects and was stable over 5 min when the hand and fingers were held horizontally. It was not increased by mental arithmetic, the Valsalva manoeuvre or 3 min exercise. Satisfactory dose-response curves could be constructed for the isoprenaline enhanced increases in finger tremor. In six subjects, practolol 120 mg produced a small shift to the right of the isoprenaline dose-response curve for finger tremor (dose ratio 2.1) but propranolol 40 mg was seven times more effective (dose ratio 17.1). Physiological finger tremor appears to be a stable parameter which may be useful in the investigation of the selectivity of beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs.

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Selected References

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