Alpha and Beta drugs

[adwilcox28]

What are some drugs that act on both Alpha and Beta receptors?

[HotelCo]

Originally Posted by adwilcox28

What are some drugs that act on both Alpha and Beta receptors?

Sounds like a test question...

[JPINFV]

Drugs are generally dirty in the sense that even a drug targeted normally at one type of receptor will generally have some activation of other receptors in the same group. The anti-arrhythmic are a wonderful example of this.

[adwilcox28]

Originally Posted by HotelCo

Sounds like a test question...

Nope, close, but nope. We were going over drugs as well as receptors sites in class and had some disagreements on drugs and their effects. wondering if people outside of our classroom had some added experience

[socalmedic]

most drugs that affect any adrenergic receptor will affect all adrenergic receptors in some way. if you want specific info, send medicrob a message he knows this stuff backwards and forwards.

[mgr22]

Originally Posted by adwilcox28

What are some drugs that act on both Alpha and Beta receptors?

Labetalol comes to mind. I believe it's roughly 6:1 or 7:1 beta vs. alpha blocker. It's used for HTN.

Another is dopamine. The alpha and beta agonist effects are dose-dependent (bigger does, more alpha).

Then there's epinephrine and, to a lesser extent, norepinephrine (mostly alpha).

[6.5diesel_therapy]

i remember studying this. you have beta 1 and beta 2 receptors. drugs that effect the beta 1 sites will have effect on the heart. and beta 2 is the lungs. and of course your alpha will be on your arterioles. each drug that effects these sites works in a specific way. beta 2 for example are brinchodilation "albuterol". and so on. im sure this didnt answer your question but ask more specifically, i did really well in this part of the class.

[Sam Adams]

Originally Posted by adwilcox28

Nope, close, but nope. We were going over drugs as well as receptors sites in class and had some disagreements on drugs and their effects. wondering if people outside of our classroom had some added experience

What was the discussion/ disagreement about?

[adwilcox28]

It was mostly about what drugs specifically would have an effect on both alpha and beta receptors in the body compared to what drugs effected only one or the other but had side effects on the opposite receptor.

[mgr22]

Originally Posted by adwilcox28

It was mostly about what drugs specifically would have an effect on both alpha and beta receptors in the body compared to what drugs effected only one or the other but had side effects on the opposite receptor.

Not sure what you mean by "side effects on the opposite receptor." Are you speaking of agonists vs. antagonists? Alpha vs. beta? If I give a beta blocker to a cocaine OD, I'm going to leave alpha-mediated vasoconstriction unopposed, to some extent, by beta-mediated vasodilation. Is that what you mean?