The effect of calcitonin gene-related peptide on arrhythmia caused by adenosine diphosphate and desacetyldigilanide-C in rats.

We investigated the effect of calcitonin gene-related peptide on the arrhythmia induced by two drugs in rats. The results of our experiments have proved that calcitonin gene-related peptide could reduce the degree of atrioventricular block, protect against the attacks of sinus standstill and ventricular fibrillation produced by adenosine diphosphate, and improve restoration of sinus rhythm. Calcitonin gene-related peptide was able to eliminate sinus standstill and ventricular fibrillation resulting from administration of desacetyldigilanide-C. These results demonstrate that calcitonin gene-related peptide has strong antiarrhythmic effects in experimental animals.

Intestinal ischemia after a single intravenous injection of deslanoside. A case report.

Nonocclusive intestinal ischemia is closely associated with heart disease and digitalization. Animal experiments and indirect evidence in man suggest that digitalis significantly decrease splanchnic blood flow. A case is described where peroperative intravenous digitalis caused profound intestinal ischemia. The report constitutes the first direct observation relating heart glycosides with intestinal ischemia in man.

Pharmacokinetics and serum concentration--effect relationship of intravenous deslanoside.

The antibodies of two commercially available digoxin-radioimmunoassay kits showed complete equimolar cross-reactivity with deslanoside and were used to determine serum levels of the latter glycoside. The serum concentrations of deslanoside were measured after a single intravenous dose of 1.2 mg in four patients recuperating after acute myocardial infarction. A phase of log-linear elimination (pseudoequilibrium) was reached after 4--8 h, and the biological half-life was 38-77 h (median 51 h). In a second study, the serum concentration was determined daily in 15 patients given multiple intravenous doses of the drug for atrial fibrillation and/or congestive heart failure. Symptoms or signs of digitalis toxicity occurred in six patients given a loading dose of deslanoside followed by daily maintenance doses of 0.4--0.6 mg. One of the patients tolerated a steady-state serum concentration of 3.9 micrograms/L (4.1 nmol/L) without toxicity symptoms. The findings in the remaining 14 patients suggest that the upper limit of the "therapeutic" concentration range is approximately 2.5 micrograms/L (2.7 nmol/L). A significant positive correlation (p less than 0.001) was found between the serum concentration of the drug and serum creatinine. Reduction of the maintenance dose of deslanoside is recommended in patients with impaired renal function.