Release and vasoactive actions of catecholamines during inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis in normal man

To assess the effect of prostaglandin inhibition upon the vasoactive actions of endogenous and exogenous catecholamines in healthy man, indomethacin (150 mg/day for 3 days) was administered to six healthy men in the sodium-repleted state. Pretreatment with indomethacin did not interfere with the response of blood pressure and pulse rate to orthostasis (10 minutes), a cold pressor test (2 minutes), and the intravenous (i.v.) administration of norepinephrine (NE) (50, 100, and 200 ng kg-1 min-1). Basal plasma concentrations of epinephrine (E) and NE as well as the concentrations of E during orthostasis and cold pressor test remained uninfluenced by pretreatment with indomethacin. While the release of NE during orthostasis appeared to be suppressed in the indomethacin-treated state, it was unchanged during the cold pressor test. These results indicate that inhibition of endogenous prostaglandin synthesis may suppress the release of NE, but does not have a major impact on the vasoactive actions of endogenous and exogenous catecholamines in normal men.