Direct measurements of arterial pressure, stroke volume (SV), and cardiac output (CO) were obtained in ether-anesthetized rats with established spontaneous hypertension (SHR) treated with alpha-methyldopa and compared to both untreated hypertensive and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Left ventricular pumping ability was determined by the maximum levels of SV and CO reached during rapid in...

To the Editor: Alpha-methyldopa was introduced as an antihypertensive drug in 1960. Side effects of its administration have included dry mouth, fever, gastrointestinal upset, positive results on antinuclear antibody (ANA) tests and lupus erythematosus cell preparations, granulocytopenia and thrombocytopenia, positive direct Coombs’ test results, hemolytic anemia, and serious hepatic injury ( I ...

We studied the effect of 3-O-methyl-methyldopa (OMMD), the 3-O-methylated metabolite of the antihypertensive drug methyldopa (alpha-methyldopa, AMD), on blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rat. OMMD lowered blood pressure in a dose-related manner when given orally or intraperitoneally. Its action lasted longer than that of AMD, and daily oral administration produced a cumulative fa...

1. Wistar-Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats were given either methyldopa (400 mg day-1 kg-1) or clonidine (0.1 or 0.3 mg day-1 kg-1) for 3 weeks commencing at 20 weeks of age. 2. Both drugs significantly decreased mean arterial pressure in spontaneously hypertensive but not Wistar-Kyoto rats. Heart rate was significantly increased in spontaneously hypertensive rats by methyldopa, wherea...

Alpha methyldopa has been shown to modify left ventricular mass and normalize mitochondria/myofibrils volume ratio in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) when administered during the stage of developing cardiac hypertrophy (Tomanek et al., Cardiovas Res 23:173, 1979). To evaluate the long-term effects of this antihypertensive agent, the drug was administered to SHR and normotensive (WKY) rats...

In an open, randomized, cross-over study the hypotensive action and side effects of clonidine-chlorthalidone and methyldopa-chlorthalidone combinations were compared. The diastolic morning blood pressure could be reduced to 95 mm. Hg or below in significantly more patients with clonidine than with methyldopa. Side effects, however, were more commonly encountered during the clonidine than during...

The effect of a low dose of methyldopa combined with (a) a non-selective and (b) a selective beta-adrenoceptor antagonist was studied in a double-blind crossover trial in 24 carefully selected patients with moderate hypertension (mean initial lying blood pressure 189/117 mm Hg). Each patient received methyldopa 750 mg/day, propranolol 240 mg/day, practolol 600 mg/day, methyldopa 750 mg/day comb...