[The effect of dihydroegotamine and propanolol on acute orthostasis (author's transl)]

10 Patients with positive orthostatic dysregulation were investigated with regard to venous capacity, heart frequency and arterial blood pressure both lying down and sitting up. The venous capacity was reduced by 14% after dehydroergotamine (DHE) in the lying position, which is an expression of increased venous tone. There is no change in venous capacity following the administration of beta blockers in the lying position. Under orthostatic conditions beta blockers bring about an approximate normalization of the venous capacity reaction, whereas the abnormal response following placebo administration is only slightly altered by DHE.