Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026

3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
[Unmasking pheochromocytoma by amitriptyline]
1Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik, Münster.
A report is given about a 57-year-old woman with a major depression, melancholic subtype. While under amitriptyline 75 mg/day no adverse effects were observed, immediately after increasing the dosage to 150 mg/day "head spasms" with headache, profuse sweating and arterial hypertension appeared. The diagnosis of a pheochromcytoma was made and adrenalectomy was performed. This is the first case of unmasking a pheochromcytoma by amitriptyline; furthermore a connexion was found with the daily dosage of the antidepressant.
A report is given about a 57-year-old woman with a major depression, melancholic subtype. While under amitriptyline 75 mg/day no adverse effects were observed, immediately after increasing the dosage to 150 mg/day "head spasms" with headache, profuse sweating and arterial hypertension appeared. The diagnosis of a pheochromcytoma was made and adrenalectomy was performed. This is the first case of unmasking a pheochromcytoma by amitriptyline; furthermore a connexion was found with the daily dosage of the antidepressant.
More Related Videos
07:56A Plate-Based Assay for the Measurement of Endogenous Monoamine Release in Acute Brain Slices
Published on: August 11, 2021
11:44Cellular Membrane Affinity Chromatography Columns to Identify Specialized Plant Metabolites Interacting with Immobilized Tropomyosin Kinase Receptor B
Published on: January 19, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Adrenergic Agonists: Indirect-Acting Agents
One mechanism involves depleting stored catecholamines by displacing them from synaptic vesicles. These agents, known as "displacers," are transported into vesicles at the expense of noradrenaline. Examples include amphetamine and tyramine, which lack a catechol moiety, resulting in prolonged action, improved oral bioavailability, and...
Adrenergic Agonists: Therapeutic Uses
Emergency and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) applications: Pressor agents increase blood pressure, heart rate, and contractility in shock and organ failure situations. Dopamine can induce vasodilation and stimulate adrenoceptors. Endogenous catecholamines are effective in treating cardiogenic shock. α2-agonists like clonidine can reverse anesthesia-induced hypertension.
Allergies and anaphylaxis:...
Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Release or Uptake
Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents
Parkinson's Disease: Treatment
Parkinson's Disease is primarily a result of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The cornerstone of its...
ECG Interpretation of Arrhythmias II: Atrial, Junctional and Ventricular Arrhythmias