NTL Record

Title Changes in the oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve and time of useful function at hypobaric pressures in rats after chronic oral administration of propranolol.
Record ID 39457
Personal Name
Creator
McKenzie, J.M.; Higgins, E.A.; Funkhouser, G.E.; Moses, R.; Fowler, P.R.; Wicks, S.M.
Corporate Creator Civil Aeromedical Institute
Corporate
Contributor
United States. Office of Aviation Medicine
Publisher Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Publication Date 19800500
Language English
Abstract Twenty rats were given propranolol, 1.8 mg/kg body weight, by mouth for 12 days. On day 13, these and 20 control rats were tested for time of useful function (TUF) after rapid decompression in a hypobaric chamber. The criterion for TUF was the animal's ability to remain upright in a motor-driven exercise wheel. The decompression profile was achieved by rapidly reducing the pressure to a level equivalent to an altitude of 34,000 ft (10,363 m), holding for 1 min, then recompressing and holding at 29,000 ft (8,839 m) for the remainder of the test. On day 13 the propranolol-treated rats had a significant shift to the right in the oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve (ODC), their average P50 was about 3.5 torr greater than that of control animals. Although shifts to the right in the ODC normally occur during adaptation to altitudes, this was of no advantage to the drug-treated group, which had an average TUF of only about 170 s (approximately 50 s less than that of control rats). This finding is consistent with the results of Eaton et al., who found that rats with left-from-normal shifts in the ODC survived longer than did control rats at altitudes approximatley equal to those used in the present study. In other expermients we showed that one metabolite of propranolol, 4-hydroxypropranolol, can produce rightward shifts in the ODC. This result may help explain why chronic administration of the drug causes such shifts, though its concentration in the blood is far less that that required to produce the effect in vitro. Decrements in the TUF seen in these and other (FAA Office of Aviation Medicine Report No. AM-79-10) experiments were probably the result of several mechanisms, including shifts in the ODC, central depression, and cardiovascular effects.
Rosap ID dot:21238
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/21238
TRT Terms Air pilots; Medication; Drug effects; Blood analysis; Altitude; Decompression; Hypoxia; Laboratory animals; Rats
General Subjects Air pilots; Adrenergic beta blockers; Drugs--Physiological effect; Blood--Analysis; Altitudes; Decompression (Physiology); Cerebral anoxia; Rats as laboratory animals
Classification NTL - AVIATION - AVIATION
Geographical
Coverage
United States
TRIS Online
Accession No
966009
Report Number FAA-AM-80-10; DOT/FAA/AM-80/10
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/39000/39400/39457/AM80-10.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository