Abstract
Almitrine increases breathing by stimulating peripheral chemoreceptors. Previous studies suggest clinical usefulness in adults with COPD but few data are available to decide whether almitrine would be helpful in diseases involving pharyngeal airway obstruction such as apnea of prematurity or obstructive sleep apnea. We investigated the effect of intravenous almitrine on hypoglossal (HG, an upper airway nerve), and phrenic (PHR) neural activity in eight chloralose-urethane anesthetized, paralyzed, vagotomized, ventilated cats. Recordings were made of raw and integrated HG and PHR electroneurograms (ENGs), PACO2, PaO2, arterial blood pressure and rectal temperature. We found that: 1) in a dose-response study (N=3 cats) at doses of 0.1 - 4.0 mg/kg, almitrine doses as low as 0.1 mg/kg increased both HG and PHR ENG activity, with a maximum effect at 1.0 mg/kg; 2) holding PaCO2 at 40 mmHg, almitrine markedly increased HG and PHR ENG activity at all PaO2 values from 35-175 mmHg (N=5 cats); 3) holding PaO2 above 150 mmHg, almitrine increased HG and PHR ENG activity at all PaCO2 values from 30-70 mmHg (N=4 cats); 4) in a ventilatory parameter timing study almitrine increased VT/Ti and decreased Ti/Ttot at normoxia and eucapnea (N=6 cats). If the finding that almitrine increases upper airway-maintaining activity can be confirmed in unanesthetized sleeping animals, almitrine may be useful in obstructive sleep apnea and apnea of prematurity.
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Weese-Mayer, D., Brouillette, R., Klemka, L. et al. 1857 EFFECT OF ALMITRINE ON HYPOGLOSSAL AND PHRENIC ELECTRONEUROGRAMS. Pediatr Res 19, 420 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-01875
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-01875