Summary
Single oral doses of atropine, nortriptyline, procyclidine and lactose dummy were administered double-blind to eight healthy young subjects in a balanced, crossover study. Television pupillometry was used to measure the anticholinergic effects of these drugs on the pupil diameter in darkness and the reflex response to light flashes. The sensitivity of this method was compared with conventional autonomic function tests, viz. salivary secretion, radial pulse, forearm sweat gland activity and distance to visual near point. Visual analogue scales were used to obtain subjective measures of sedative drug effects. The expected inhibition of parasympathetic activity was found in most instances with two exceptions: firstly, that nortriptyline failed to affect the pupil despite causing a tachycardia and secondly, that procyclidine gave a bradycardia. The results are discussed with reference to the possible advantages of television pupillometry over conventional pupil measurement in the detection of anticholinergic drug effects.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Averill, K. M., Lamb, L. E.: Less commonly recognised actions of atropine on cardiac rhythm. Am. J. med. Sci.237, 304–318 (1959)
Ashford, A., Penn, G. B., Ross, J. W.: Cholinergic activity of atropine. Nature193, 1082–1083 (1962)
Bye, C. E., Clubley, M., Peck, A. W.: Drowsiness impaired performance and tricyclic antidepressant drugs. Br. J. clin. Pharmacol.6, 155–161 (1978)
Bye, C. E., Clubley, M., Henson, T., Peck, A. W., Smith, S. A. and Smith, S. E.: Effects of systemically administered drugs with anticholinergic actions on the pupil and other organs. Br. J. clin. Pharmacol.5, 366–367 P (1978)
Clubley, M., Bye, C. E., Henson, T., Peck, A. W. and Riddington, C.: A technique for studying the effects of drugs on human sweat gland activity. Europ. J. clin. Pharmacol.14, 221–226 (1978)
Duncan, D. B.: Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics11, 1–42 (1955)
Fisher, R. A.: The design of experiments. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd 1935
Herxheimer, A.: A comparison of some atropine-like drugs in man, with particular reference to their end-organ specificity. Br. J. Pharmacol.13, 184–192 (1958)
Lader, M., Norris, H.: The effects of nitrous oxide on the human auditory evoked response. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.)16, 115–127 (1969)
Montuschi, E., Phillips, J., Prescott, F., Green, A. F.: Kemadrin in postencephalitic Parkinsonism. Lancet1952/I, 583–585
Peck, A. W., Clubley, M., Henson, T., Bye, C. E., Riddington, C.: A comparison of bupropion hydrochloride with dexamphetamine and amitriptyline in healthy subjects. Br. J. clin. Pharmacol. (in press) (1978)
Smith, S. A. and Smith, S. E.: Factors determining the potency of cholinomimetic miotic drugs and their effect upon the light reflex in man. Br. J. clin. Pharmacol.6, 149–153 (1978)
Thomson, M. L. and Sutarman: The identification and enumeration of active sweat glands in man from plastic impressions of the skin. Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg.47, 412–417 (1953)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bye, C.E., Clubley, M., Henson, T. et al. Changes in the human light reflex as a measure of the anticholinergic effects of drugs. A comparison with other measures. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 15, 21–25 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00563554
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00563554