COMBINED EPHEDRINE-PITUITARY EXTRACT (POSTERIOR LOBE) THERAPY IN HISTAMINE SHOCK

¹ Department of Pharmacology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Experiments are presented to show that a mixture of ephedrine sulfate and pituitary extract (posterior lobe) is more effective than larger individual quantities of these drugs in restoring blood pressure and respiration and in abolishing general collapse in dogs experimentally shocked by the prolonged intravenous injection of histamine.

The prolonged and well-maintained pressor effects of the mixture and the stimulant action of ephedrine per se upon the central nervous system are suggested as the possible basis of these rather striking effects.

Finally, the results suggest the possibility of applying to advantage this combined type of treatment in human cases of surgical shock and allied conditions of circulatory failure.