Studies of serum lipids in hypercholesterolaemic rabbits treated with doxazosin

Serum lipids were studied in hypercholesterolaemic rabbits treated with the selective alpha 1-adrenoreceptor antagonist doxazosin. Hypercholesterolaemia had been induced by cholesterol feeding which raised mean (+/- SEM) total serum cholesterol from 1.4 (+/- 0.1) mmol/l to 84.1 (+/- 3.6) mmol/l. A cross-over design was used to compare the effect of doxazosin with placebo in 20 rabbits of which 16 completed the study. Doxazosin (2 mg/kg) or placebo vehicle was administered subcutaneously once daily for three weeks. Compared with placebo, doxazosin produced an 8.6% greater reduction in total serum cholesterol. This difference did not, however, reach statistical significance.