Autoradiography of nadolol and propranolol in the rat

Whole-body autoradiography of rats dosed with [14C]propranolol or [14C]nadolol have confirmed physicochemical predictions that nadolol, in contrast to propranolol, penetrates the CNS only to a slight extent, if at all. Differences between the CNS penetration of different beta-blockers have implications for the mechanism of the hypotensive action and the prevalence of side-effects associated with disturbance of the CNS.