THE INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF AMRINONE ON ISOLATED RAT UTERUS

Amrinone, a new cardiotonic drug, has received attention as a better t herapeutic agent than the cardiac glycosides in the treatment of conge stive heart failure. In this study, the effects of amrinone on isolate d rat uterus and its probable mechanism of action were investigated. A t two different concentrations (0.1 and 0.5 mM), the inhibitory effect s of amrinone on the spontaneous contractions of rat uterus were noted . In addition, amrinone (0.5 mM) was found to inhibit the tonic contra ctions induced by potassium sulphate (K2SO4)-Ringer solution (91.74%) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) (93.04%). These inhibitory effects were c ompared with regulators of the phosphodiesterase enzyme (PDE). It was concluded that amrinone could behave as a calcium antagonist and PDE i nhibitor.