EFFECT OF TOPICALLY APPLIED ADRENERGIC BLOCKERS ON FERTILITY

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 27  (4) , 242-245
Abstract
The contraceptive properties of 2 adrenergically active drugs, propranolol and reserpine, were measured in vivo and in vitro. Propranolol became effective as a spermicide for human sperm at a concentration of .apprx. 2 .times. 103 M and for rat sperm at 2 .times. 10-2 M. Reserpine was also more effective on human than rat sperm and .apprx. 20 times less effective than propranolol. Both propranolol and resperine prevented implantation when instilled into the uteri of rats. The anti-implantation effect persisted for up to 5 days after instillation of propranolol. When freely breeding rats eventually became pregnant after daily vaginal instillation of propranolol, the number of uterine implantations decreased as the concentration of vaginally instilled propranolol increased. The implantations tended to be toward the fundal end of the uteri, away from the source of propranolol, indicating a topical rather than a systemic anti-implantation effect.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: