Portal hypertension is one of the commonest disease in our locality
due to prevalence of bilharziasis and the death rate is high
from bleeding esophageal varieces due to elevated portal pressure.
In the present study we test the effect of amlodipine (a
long acting calcium channel blocker of the dihydropyridine
group which has no hepatotoxic effect) on the experimentally
induced portal hypertension in rabbits. Also, its effects on
systemic blood pressure and heart rate were tested. From this
study, we found that amlodipine was effective in reducing the
elevated portal pressure to normal level in doses which don't
produce any effect on the heart rate or systemic blood pressure.
We recommend the use of amlodipine in treatment of portal
hypertension after necessary clinical studies.
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