Long-lasting effect of oral molsydomine on exercise performance: a new antianginal agent

Propranolol plus molsidomine vs propranolol alone in the treatment of portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Effective protection from the risk of variceal bleeding is achieved when the hepatic venous pressure gradient is reduced to 12 mmHg or at least by 20% of baseline values. Such a marked decrease is rarely achieved with propranolol, and new agents or combinations of them are now being explored. The present randomized study investigated whether chronic treatment with the combination of propranolol plus molsidomine, a preferential venous dialator that reduces hepatic venous pressure gradient and does not cause pharmacological tolerance, achieves greater reduction in hepatic venous pressure gradient than propranolol alone.

METHODS

A hemodynamic study was performed in 34 patients with cirrhosis with portal hypertension in baseline conditions and after 3 months of chronic oral treatment with propranolol alone (n = 19) or propranolol plus molsidomine (n = 15).

RESULTS

Propranolol produced a significant reduction in hepatic venous pressure gradient (-16%, p < 0.01). Propranolol plus molsidomine also caused a slight but significant decrease in hepatic venous pressure gradient (-9%, p < 0.05). Hepatic blood flow and the hepatic and intrinsic clearance of indocyanine green were significantly reduced by propranolol. The combined administration of propranolol+molsidomine significantly reduced hepatic blood flow but not hepatic and intrinsic clearance of indocyanine green. Both treatment groups produced similar reduction in azygos blood flow, heart rate and cardiac output. However, contrary to propranolol alone, propranolol plus molsidomine did not increase cardiopulmonary pressures.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study shows that although the combined administration of propranolol plus molsidomine prevents some of the adverse effects of propranolol on liver function and cardiopulmonary pressures, it does not achieve a greater reduction in hepatic venous pressure gradient than propranolol alone and therefore, does not support the use of this combined therapy for the pharmacological treatment of portal hypertension.

Effects of nicorandil on regional perfusion and left ventricular function

Left ventricular function and regional perfusion were evaluated by two study designs in patient groups with stable ischemic coronary artery disease (CAD): (1) using conventional left ventricular angiographies and (2) applying myocardial contrast echocardiography. The aim of the studies was to establish the effects of sublingually or orally applied nicorandil (N) on pacing-induced myocardial ischemia (MIS). In the first angiographic study, in nine patients with ischemic CAD and with pacing-inducible MIS, the effect of N, 20 mg sublingually, on hemodynamics and regional wall motion (RWM) were studied. There were no parameter changes without MIS being induced when comparing measurements at the 7th and 14th minute after N application to control values (p > 0.05). In the 15th and 16th minutes after N, pacing-induced MIS could no longer be elicited but left ventricular pump function improved; comparing MIS with N versus MIS without N: ejection fraction improved by 21%, cardiac index by 37%, and RWM by 21%, while filling pressure fell by 41% and systemic vascular resistance fell by 29%. Thus, N-mediated "protection from ischemia" with rather improved hemodynamics and RWM corresponds with alterations that theoretically could have been expected after nitroglycerin given under the above conditions. In the second echocardiographic study, regional perfusion was assessed in 10 patients by intracoronary injection of a newly developed echo contrast medium (ECM) and measurement of ECM washout halftime (t1/2) over opacified myocardial regions of interest, which displayed wall motion abnormalities already at rest.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Hemodynamic evaluation of molsidomine: a vasodilator with antianginal properties in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis

Organic nitrates were reported to reduce portohepatic venous pressure gradient in patients with cirrhosis. However, these drugs lower arterial pressure and are well known to induce tolerance. The aim of the present study was to assess the hemodynamic effects of molsidomine, an antianginal agent, which does not induce tolerance and has little effect on arterial pressure in patients with normal liver, in 13 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. Wedged hepatic vein pressure (-11%, p less than 0.01), portohepatic venous pressure gradient (-15%, p less than 0.005), hepatic blood flow (-17.4%, p less than 0.005), mean arterial pressure (-13.5%, p less than 0.01) and cardiac output (-17%, p less than 0.001) were significantly reduced by molsidomine. Free hepatic vein pressure, intrinsic hepatic clearance indocyanine green, heart rate and systemic vascular resistances were not significantly modified. There was no correlation between the decrease in portohepatic venous pressure gradient and the reduction in mean arterial pressure on one hand and the decrease in cardiac output on the other hand. We therefore conclude that in patients with cirrhosis, molsidomine has effects similar to nitrates on systemic and splanchnic hemodynamics.

Effects of SIN-1 on peripheral hemodynamics and viscoelastic properties of aorta in anesthetized rabbits

In closed-chest, non-barbiturate-anesthetized rabbits, we have used a computer-based parameter estimation method to evaluate the effects of a slow intravenous infusion of SIN-1 (15 micrograms/kg/min for 20 minutes) upon hemodynamic, geometric, viscoelastic, and energetic characteristics of the hindlimb arterial bed from the measurement of abdominal aortic diameter, blood flow, and blood pressure. To evaluate intrinsic effects of SIN-1 upon arterial wall characteristics, a moderate arterial bleeding (3 ml/kg) was performed to achieve a -10% lowering of arterial pressure, i.e., to reach an equivalent blood pressure reference threshold in the absence of the drug. The SIN-1 IV infusion induced a marked blood pressure lowering (-10.0 +/- 2.1%), resulting from a relaxing action on smooth muscle vasculature both in capacitive and resistive components of the hindlimb vascular tree, thereby eliciting a lowering in peripheral resistance (-22.8 +/- 3.1%) and an increased blood flow (+11.7 +/- 3.6%). SIN-1 enhanced vascular compliance (+28.0 +/- 2.2%) and lowered vascular input impedance (-31.2 +/- 8.9%), as confirmed by modulus and phase spectra. SIN-1 IV infusion contrasted bleeding effects by increasing blood flow and maintaining constant or increasing aortic diameter, both of them being lowered by bleeding. The relaxing effect elicited by SIN-1 was further demonstrated by changes in viscoelastic characteristics, and it was further associated with a decreasing energetic demand as well. The present results demonstrated that SIN-1, administered as a slow IV infusion, exhibits vasodilating properties by acting both on capacitive and resistive vessels of the systemic circulation.

Exercise tolerance in coronary patients: randomized trial of two-week treatment with molsidomine versus placebo

Using a randomized, double-blind, crossover protocol, we compared the effects of oral molsidomine (Corvaton, 6 mg/day) and placebo, administered alternately for two 14-day periods, on the exercise tolerance of 25 outpatients with coronary heart disease. Resting heart rate and oxygen consumption increased by 6.8% (p less than 0.005) and 12.6% (p less than 0.01), while peripheral systolic blood pressure was reduced by 5.1% (p less than 0.05). At submaximal workloads, systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced by 5.6% (p less than 0.001) and 6.1% (p less than 0.001), the pressure-rate product was reduced by 8.5% (p less than 0.05), and ST segment depression was reduced by 40.0% (p less than 0.005). At maximal exercise level, mechanical power increased by 32.4% (p less than 0.001) and oxygen consumption by 15.5% (p less than 0.005), while ST segment depression was reduced by 30.6% (p less than 0.001). No alteration was found in postexercise lung function tests. It is concluded that molsidomine reduces myocardial ischemia at both submaximal and maximal work levels and increases exercise tolerance significantly. These effects could be related to reduced myocardial oxygen requirements, reflected in a lower pressure-rate product at submaximal exercise and perhaps enhanced by a lower preload, which, moreover, would favor coronary flow in subendocardial layers. The drug has no adverse bronchopulmonary effects.

Clinical and hemodynamic effects of the new dilator drug molsidomine

The effects of a single 2 mg oral dose of molsidomine were assessed with treadmill multistage exercise testing in six men with stable angina. A double-blind, placebo-controlled protocol was used, with exercise to the point when anginal pain forced the patient to stop. Exercise was undertaken before and at 1/2, 1 1/2, 4, and 6 hours after drug administration. Molsidomine improved exercise performance, with the best antianginal effect at 1 1/2 hours after administration, when the mean times to limiting angina were approximately 6 3/4 minutes with placebo and 11 1/2 minutes with molsidomine (p less than 0.05). The corresponding energy expenditures were 33.8 and 77.6 mets, an increase of 130% with the active drug. Intra-arterial blood pressure recording verified that molsidomine had a vasodilator hemodynamic profile, and the immediate postexercise rate-pressure product 1 1/2 hours after molsidomine treatment was 232 mm Hg/min X 10(-2), compared with 183 mm Hg/min X 10(-2) after administration of placebo (NS). Side effects of molsidomine were limited to headache in two patients.

Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of molsidomine in patients with stable effort angina receiving beta-blocker therapy with atenolol

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed in 12 patients with chronic and stable effort angina to study the antianginal and anti-ischemic actions of a single dose of molsidomine in addition to long-term therapy with a long-acting beta-adrenergic blocker (100 mg of atenolol daily). Efficacy was assessed by means of objective endpoints obtained by computer-assisted exercise testing. The mean exercise time to produce angina improved significantly from 330 +/- 38 seconds (mean +/- SEM) in patients after administration of atenolol and placebo to 420 +/- 36 seconds after administration of atenolol and molsidomine. Similar significant improvements were seen in ST segment changes at an identical exercise duration, in maximal heart rate, and in maximal exercise duration. The increased anginal threshold and the reduced ischemic changes were not explained by changes in the rate-pressure product at submaximal levels. Thus molsidomine showed antianginal and anti-ischemic efficacy in the treatment of stable effort angina additional to the effect of long-term therapy with beta-adrenergic blockers.

Hemodynamic and coronary effects of molsidomine at basal state, during atrial pacing, and during cold pressor test in patients with stable angina pectoris

Heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), coronary sinus blood flow (CSF), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), mean arterial (MAP), and coronary arteriovenous difference for oxygen (AVDcO2) were measured in patients with stable angina pectoris without cardiac failure before and 40 to 60 minutes after administration of 2 or 3 mg of molsidomine. In 20 patients these measurements were made in basal state during spontaneous rhythm. In eight of these patients (including three receiving beta blockers) the measurements were made during atrial pacing. In eight other patients, all receiving long-term beta-blocker therapy, the measurements were made during cold pressor test. At the basal state in spontaneous rhythm, a gradual reduction in the LVSP to 70% or less of its initial value was observed in four patients receiving 3 mg of molsidomine (two of whom received beta-blocker treatment). The LVSP was immediately restored by vascular filling. In the 16 other patients molsidomine decreased LVSP, LVEDP, MAP, CO, and double product (DP = LVSP X HR). The AVDcO2 was unchanged. CSF and myocardial oxygen uptake index (MVO2 = CSF X AVDcO2) were decreased. During atrial pacing, hemodynamic and coronary effects were similar to those seen in the basal state. During the cold pressor test, the increases in LVSP, MAP, and LVEDP were significantly reduced by molsidomine. The variations in CSF and coronary resistance (MAP/CSF) were also significantly different after administration of molsidomine, with better metabolic regulation of the coronary circulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of molsidomine on hemodynamics and blood gases in acute myocardial infarction with left heart failure

We studied the effects of molsidomine on hemodynamic properties and blood gas levels in eight patients with acute myocardial infarction and left heart failure. One hour after an 8 mg intravenous bolus injection, pulmonary wedge pressure and right atrial pressure decreased, respectively, from 30 +/- 9 to 23 +/- 12 mm Hg (p less than 0.01) and from 10.4 +/- 3.6 to 7.8 +/- 4.0 mm Hg (p less than 0.05) without significant changes in heart rate, cardiac index, or systemic blood pressure. There was a mild decrease in arterial oxygen tension (from 61 +/- 15 to 56 +/- 6 mm Hg), but it was not significant. The drug induced no adverse effects. Intravenous bolus injection of molsidomine rapidly relieves pulmonary congestion in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

The new long-acting coronary artery dilator molsidomine and its metabolite SIN-1

We studied the effects of intracoronary injections of SIN-1 (0.8 mg), the active metabolite of molsidomine, on coronary artery diameters and coronary stenoses. In nine patients with abnormal angiograms measurements were made 4 and 8 minutes after SIN-1 administration. There was a statistically significant increase in coronary luminal diameter in proximal, medial, and distal segments as well as at the level of the stenoses. At 4 minutes after administration distal segments showed a mean increase in diameter of 50%, compared to a mean increase of 26% in proximal segments. In six patients with normal angiograms SIN-1 abolished three of four coronary spasms induced by ergonovine maleate. A protective effect of SIN-1 against the vasoconstrictor effects of ergonovine was still present at 8 minutes after administration. Heart rate and blood pressure remained unchanged throughout the study. We conclude that the vasodilation induced by SIN-1 in normal and stenotic coronary arteries is probably an important contribution to the antianginal efficacy of molsidomine and suggests that molsidomine may be effective in the prophylaxis of variant angina.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with postinfarction angina caused by coronary artery spasm

Clinical features and the course of 15 patients with postinfarction angina caused by coronary artery spasm are described. Episodes of postinfarction angina in the patients recurred at rest in the early recovery phase and were accompanied by transient ST-segment elevation. The area where ST-segment elevations were demonstrated on a 12-lead ECG always included the leads with newly developed abnormal Q waves. Pain resolved spontaneously or after sublingual nitroglycerin in several minutes. Holter ECGs during a 24-h period demonstrated frequent episodes of ST-segment elevation that were not always associated with chest pain. Treatment with calcium antagonist and/or nitrates effectively suppressed angina, and only one patient developed reinfarction. The patient's subjective symptoms were abolished by diltiazem and isosorbide dinitrate. A Holter ECG of the patient revealed silent ST-segment elevations before and after the reinfarction and an increase of the drugs completely suppressed the recurrence of silent ischemic ECG changes. Coronary arteriograms were obtained from 8 patients, which demonstrated more than 75% segmental stenosis on one coronary artery in 5 patients and no significant obstruction in the remaining 3. All patients performed a treadmill exercise stress test before discharge and most demonstrated excellent tolerance. All patients experienced no form of chest pain for an average of 25 months follow-up under medication. We conclude that among patients with postinfarction angina, those cases caused by coronary artery spasm have a relatively good prognosis.

Effects of molsidomine on exercise tolerance in patients with coronary heart disease

We performed a double-blind crossover study with molsidomine in 10 patients with coronary heart disease. A single dose of molsidomine and placebo were given sublingually 1 hour before an exercise tolerance test. Molsidomine significantly reduced systolic blood pressure at rest and at all work-loads. There was also a significant reduction in electrocardiographic ST-segment depression at submaximal exercise. At maximal exercise the drug significantly increased symptom-limited oxygen consumption and total mechanical work. Molsidomine could prove useful in the treatment of angina pectoris. It has no adverse effects on pulmonary function.

Anti-ischemic effects of molsidomine in an experimental model of coronary artery stenosis

The effect of molsidomine, a novel antianginal agent, on the epicardial electrographic changes induced by reduced perfusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was investigated in the anesthetized dog. The LAD was cannulated and perfused at a constant volume with blood taken from a carotid artery. The perfusion volume was than reduced by approximately 75%. The sum of the ST-segment changes obtained from six unipolar epicardial leads was taken as a measure of myocardial hypoxia. Simultaneously, heart rate, blood pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, pulmonary arterial pressure, and heart contractility were also recorded. In control animals, reduction of the perfusion volume of the LAD resulted in a dramatic elevation of the ST segments lasting more than 4 hr. Molsidomine administered after the induction of the ischemia at a dose of 0.05 mg/kg i.v. resulted within 40 min in a complete normalization of the electrographic changes. This effect was evident for over 4 hr in spite of the continuous reduced perfusion of the LAD. The beneficial effect of molsidomine on the electrical changes paralleled the reduction of the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. It is suggested that the effect of molsidomine on the ischemic electrographic changes is brought about by a reduction of the preload, resulting in a better perfusion of the ischemic zones.

Effects of molsidomine on the coronary circulation in anesthetized dogs

The intravenous effects of molsidomine on the coronary circulation, myocardial oxygen consumption, and hemodynamics were investigated in anesthetized, open-chest dogs. Left coronary artery flow was reduced after drug administration, while coronary resistance remained unaffected. The coronary arteriovenous oxygen difference did not change after molsidomine. Myocardial oxygen consumption was significantly reduced. Stroke work of the heart was diminished. Molsidomine caused a dose-dependent decrease in aortic and left ventricular pressures (after-load) as well as a sustained fall in left ventricular end-diastolic and mean pulmonary artery pressures (preload). Heart rate and contractility were only moderately affected. Stroke volume and cardiac output decreased significantly for the experimentation time, while total peripheral resistance increased after 0.25 mg/kg molsidomine. All observed effects of the drug can be explained by extracardiac effects: an increase in venous capacity. No direct effects of molsidomine on myocardial function could be noted. The fall in blood pressure was not induced by vasodilatation of peripheral arteriolar vessels but occurred as sequel of the reduced cardiac output following decreased ventricular filling. Molsidomine improved the oxygen supply-demand balance by decreasing external work of the heart and hence myocardial oxygen demand.

[Effect of molsidomine on hemodynamics and myocardial ischemia in patients with acute myocardial infarction (author's transl)]

The effect of molsidomine on hemodynamics and myocardial ischemia were studied in 48 patients with acute myocardial infarction. Between 8 and 12 mg of orally and intravenously administered molsidomine led to a significant reduction in left ventricular filling pressure. In response to 2 x 4 mg p.o., diastolic pulmonary arterial pressure fell from 12.1 to 8.8 mm Hg in patients with filling pressure below 20 mm Hg. Patients with left heart failure and left ventricular filling pressure above 20 mm Hg (Group 2) displayed a decline in filling pressure from 23.8 to 17.4 mm Hg following 12 mg i.v. In addition, right atrial pressure dropped significantly across the entire range of dosages. Although patients without left ventricular failure (Group I) showed a decline in cardiac output (5.7 to 4.7 l/min), this parameter remained unchanged in Group 2. Heart rate in Group 2 fell from 85 to 81 per min. Arterial blood pressure was reduced by a mean of only 10 mm Hg at high dosages and remained unchanged at lower dosages. No change was observed in peripheral resistance. The maximum effect was seen 30 min after oral administration. Three hours later, the effect was reduced by half. Only minimal activity could be observed after 8 h. The incidence of side effects was low, with transient headaches occurring in 8% of the patients. An intraindividual comparison with 1.6 mg of sublingually administered nitroglycerin demonstrated no significant difference in hemodynamic effectiveness (n = 11). Molsidomine, not unlike nitroglycerin, exerts a favorable effect on hemodynamics and myocardial ischemia. It acts primarily to reduce preload. The additional moderate effect on afterload with a slight decline in arterial pressure at high dosages may also be considered advantageous.

Increased effective vascular compliance and venous pooling of intravascular volume during sustained venodilation in conscious dogs

The hemodynamic effects of the long-acting antianginal drug molsidomine were studied in 8 chronically instrumented conscious dogs by measuring the partition of the intravascular volume and the effective compliance of the total vascular bed. The blood volume of the resting dogs was varied by +/- 4 ml/kg in a cycle of blood infusion, withdrawal and reinfusion within 12 minutes. Relating the observed alterations in mean right atrial pressure to the induced changes in intravascular volume, an effective compliance of 2.9 +/- 0.4 ml. mm Hg-1 . kg -1 (mean +/- SD) was found. Heart rate, total peripheral vascular resistance and the local capacity of the distal femoral vein did not change significantly during the cycle of volume alterations. Following 0.1 mg/kg molsidomine i.v., mean right atrial pressure was lowered by 1.6 mm Hg and mean left atrial pressure by 3.4 mm Hg; the effective compliance was elevated to 4.7 +/- 0.6 ml . mm Hg-1. kg -1 (p less than 0.001), and the central blood volume was lowered from 17.8 +/- 3.1 to 14.8 +/0 3.3 ml/kg (p less than 0.01), while the total blood volume remained constant. The decline in stroke volume and the reflexly induced increase in heart rate correlated with the control heart rate. Mean arterial pressure declined from 101 +/- 7 to 91 +/- 14 mm Hg (p less than 0.05) and total peripheral vascular resistance remained unaffected. It is concluded that molsidomine exerts exerts its hypotensive effect by dilation within the vascular low-pressure system and that this dilation can be described quantitatively in conscious animals by the analysis of the total effective vascular compliance.

Hemodynamic effects of molsidomine vasodilatory therapy in acute myocardial infarction

The hemodynamic effects and duration of action of 4 mg of intravenous molsidomine (M), a new peripheral vasodilator antianginal agent, were evaluated and compared to those of 10 mg sublingual isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) in 12 patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Both M and ISDN produced marked decreases in mean right atrial pressure (RAP), mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (WP), and mean pulmonary arterial pressure. The maximal decreases in RAP (-56%) and WP (-35%) with intravenous M intended to be more pronounced than with sublingual ISDN (RAP-35% and WP-29%). Physiologic modest declines in systemic vascular resistance, cardiac output, and arterial pressure were similar with the both drugs. The duration of action of M was longer (average 5 hours) than that of ISDN (2 hours). No patient experienced hypotension, tachycardia, or other adverse responses following M, suggesting that M is well isolated by patients with normotensive AMI.

Increased exercise tolerance after oral diltiazem, a calcium antagonist, in angina pectoris

Effects of diltiazem, a recently introduced calcium antagonist, on exercise performance were studied in nine coronary disease patients with effort angina. The duration of exercise before the onset of angina and the time to the onset of ischemic ST depression 2 hours after 90 mg of oral diltiazem were compared with those 2 hours after oral placebo and a few minutes after 0.3 mg of sublingual nitroglycerin. Diltiazem prolonged the duration of exercise in all nine patients (average 2.5 minutes, p less than 0.001) and delayed the onset of ischemic ST depression (average 2.4 minutes, p less than 0.001). The increment of the duration of exercise and the time to the onset of ischemic ST depression following 90 mg of oral diltiazem were almost equivalent to that following sublingual nitroglycerin. These results in fixed coronary atherosclerosis indicate the clinical antianginal efficacy of diltiazem which persists for at least 2 hours after oral administration.

Hemodynamic effects of molsidomine at rest and during submaximal and maximal exercise in patients with coronary artery disease limited by exertional angina pectoris

To analyze the mechanisms of action of molsidomine, a new antianginal drug, 10 patients with coronary artery disease and exertional angina pectoris were studied. Hemodynamic measurements were made at rest, during submaximal exercise and during angina-limited exercise before and 1 hour after intravenous administration of 2 mg of molsidomine. When angina pectoris was prevented after the drug was given (6 of 10 patients), the exercise intensity was increased until the recurrence of angina (3 patients) or until exhaustion (3 patients), and hemodynamic data were recorded at this higher exercise capacity. At rest and during submaximal exercise, molsidomine increased heart rate and decreased cardiac output and mean systemic and pulmonary arterial pressures. The prevention of angina pectoris was attended by lower mean systemic and pulmonary arterial pressures and pressure-rate product; cardiac output and heart rate were unchanged. The greater exercise capacity (+26 percent) after molsidomine was attended by increases in maximal cardiac output (+19 percent) and in arteriovenous oxygen difference (+6 percent); the maximal pressure-rate product was unchanged and systemic vascular resistance was lower. The mechanisms of action of molsidomine are very similar to those of nitrates and imply a decrease in venous and arterial tone. Molsidomine deserves further study in patients with angina or congestive heart failure.

Double-blind controlled trial of molsidomine in hypertension

Molsidomine (M), a new long-lasting antianginal compound, was studied in 38 hypertensive patients to assess its antihypertensive properties. Six patients were selected for an acute, single dose comparative trial with placebo over 8 h after treatment. The remaining 32 patients were used in a 1 month trial to study the effect on BP of more prolonged treatment. Systolic, diastolic and mean BP were significantly reduced after a single dose of M 4 mg, and the effect lasted for about 8 h. M also inhibited the hypertensive response to isometric exercise in handgrip tests performed 1 and 8 h after M ingestion. A dose-related decrease in systolic and diastolic BP in the one month trial was also observed. In addition to its antianginal properties, M appears to possess an interesting effect on BP in mildly to moderately hypertensive patients. A fall in BP is also a valuable effect in coronary patients with augmented metabolic demands of the heart.

Molsidomine in the treatment of patients with angina pectoris

Molsidomine, a new long-acting vasodilator, was administered intravenously (0.03 mg per kilogram of body weight) to two groups of six patients with stable anginapectoris. In the first group, studied during exercise-induced angina, the drug shortened the duration of pain and reduced electrocardiographically measured ST-segment depression, mean systemic arterial pressure, and mean pulmonary wedge pressure. Cardiac output and heart rate remained unchanged. In the second group, studied during pacing-induced angina, the drug reduced both left ventricular pressures and angiographically estimated ventricular volumes and improved the ejection fraction. In a double-blind crossover comparison with a placebo, molsidomine (2 mg three times daily) reduced the frequency of anginal attacks and the consumption of nitroglycerin tablets in 14 patients. During exercise testing on a treadmill a statistically significant reduction in ST-segment depression lasted for up to six hours. These studies suggest that molsidomine acts like nitroglycerin but its effects last longer. We conclude that molsidomine is effective in preventing the symptoms of angina pectoris. (N Engl J Med 302:1-6, 1980).

Determination of molsidomine in plasma by high-performance liquid column chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the analysis of the anti-anginal compound 5-ethoxycarbonyl-3-morpholinosydnonimine (Molsidomine) in human and dog plasma. The drug was extracted from plasma into chloroform and the analysis was carried out on a reversed-phase column, the column effluent being monitored by UV absorption at 312 nm. The method is sensitive (2 +/- 0.3 ng/ml) and specific. The method was applied to a study in which human volunteers received an aqueous solution of the drug and then, on a separate occasion, a tablet formulation. Peak plasma levels of 20--30 ng/ml (tablet) and 10--19 ng/ml (aqueous solution) were obtained following a 2-mg oral dose.

Hemodynamic and myocardial effects of long-lasting venodilation in the conscious dog: analysis of molsidomine in comparison with nitrates

The effect of molsidomine-induced venodilation on cardiac preload was studied in conscious resting dogs, instrumented to analyze left ventricular function and myocardial perfusion. Direct effects on veins were studied during chloralose anesthesia by measuring regional venous capacitance changes with an induction angiometer. Kinetics of molsidomine-induced effects were compared to those induced by nitroglycerin and isosorbide dinitrate. This comparison was restricted to low i.v. dosages, causing only transient threshold effects on peripheral resistance and heart rate. During molsidomine-induced venous pooling, neither any direct effect on the coronary circulation nor any direct cardiac depressant activity of the drug was detected. 100 microgram/kg molsidomine caused a reduction of left ventricular preload by 5 mm Hg, lasting at least 4 hours. This effect was significantly more pronounced than that induced by 1 microgram/kg nitroglycerin or by 25 microgram/kg isosorbide dinitrate, lasting 2 min or 20 min, respectively. However, in raising regional venous capacitance, these nitrate dosages were equi-effective to 100 microgram/kg molsidomine, the effect of which was persistent and with a greater delay in onset. These results indicate that the lasting persistance of venodilation is a decisive factor for the amount of volume pooled in the capacitance system and, consequently, for the extent of preload reduction obtained. It is concluded, that lasting vasodilation, restricted to the veins, is beneficial for ventricular performance in ischemic heart disease.

Acute double blind trial of a new anti-anginal drug: molsidomine

The antianginal activity of Molsidomine, a recently developed compound, was studied in 6 patients with stable angina pectoris who attended 3 trial sessions. On different days the patients received single doses of Molsidomine (M; 2 mg), isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN; 5 mg) or placebo (P), in a double blind cross-over manner. All patients performed exercise tests at time 0 (before medication) and 30, 60, 120, 240 and 360 min after drug intake. Tests were performed on a treadmill using the Bruce protocol; the ECG were recorded on 3 channel equipment and was stored on 2 channel magnetic tape (Holter system). No difference between basal values before treatment and on exercise during placebo were observed. At a similar submaximal workload after M and ISDN there was no significant change in heart rate or pressure-rate product, a decrease in systolic blood pressure, a reduction of ST ischemic response between 30 to 120 min after drug intake, and after M alone, a significant decrease in diastolic blood pressure during the 6 hour period. Molsidomine produced clear inhibition of exercise-evoked ischemic ST changes and a long-lasting effect on diastolic blood pressure.