The influence of propanolol on portosystemic shunting

✍ Scribed by Jorge J. Gumucio; Laurence M. Blendis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 268 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0270-9139
• DOI: 10.1002/hep.1840140531

✦ Synopsis

We investigated the role of early portal hypotensive pharmacotherapy in preventing the development of portal-systemic shunting in a portal hypertensive model of chronic murine schistosomiasis induced by infecting C3H mice with 60 cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni. Propranolol was administered in drinking water to 20 animals for a period of 6 wk at a dose of 10 mg-kg-ld-', starting at 5 wk of schistosomal infection. 32 age-matched mice with chronic schistosomal infection served as controls. All animals were studied 11 wk after the infection. Compared with controls the portal pressure (10.8 2 0.40 mm Hg) was signiscantly lower (P < 0.001) in the propranololtreated animals (7.9 2 0.80 mm Hg). Portal-systemic shunting was decreased by 79%, from 12.2 * 3.34% in controls to 2.5 2 0.99% in the propranolol group (P < 0.05). Portal venous inflow was reduced by 38% in the propranolol treated animals (2.50 * 0.73 mumin; n = 6) compared with controls (4.00 * 0.34 ml/min;