[The effect of a single dose of nifedipine, intal, sodium thiosulfate and Essentiale on the blood level of calcium, hydroperoxides, thiol compounds and prostaglandins in bronchial asthma patients].
A study was made of the impact of a single intake of nifedipine, intal, sodium thiosulfate and essentiale on respiratory function, the blood content of ionized calcium, total calcium, hydroperoxides, total and non-protein thiol groups, and prostaglandins in bronchial asthma patients. All the drugs exerted an antioxidant action, which is supported by the lowering of the content of hydroperoxides after their administration and by an increase of the content of thiol groups. A rise of the level of PGE and a considerable reduction of blood serum PGF2 alpha, most remarkable after essentiale administration were also noted. In patients given nifedipine in a dose of 20 mg, an insignificant broncholytic effect was recorded in more than half the cases. An appreciable rise of blood ionized calcium was seen in all the cases. Obviously, this is a direct consequence of its limited supply to the cells via calcium channels. In contrast to patients who received other drugs, those given intal demonstrated the lowering of blood serum ionized calcium and the growth of the content of bound calcium, which may be accounted for the transformation of ionized calcium to the bound condition.