Summary
Twenty patients with neurocirculatory asthenia (NCA) have been investigated. They suffered from at least three out of seven defined symptoms and the severity of the symptoms prevented an ordinary daily activity. The patients were classified according to physiological variables and psychiatric (interview) criteria. They were treated with Aptin®, an adrenergic beta-blocking agent, and placebo in a double-blind cross-over design. From objective and subjective assessment of symptomatic improvement and drug preference, eight patients were classified as Aptin-responders and eleven as placebo responders. Physiological characteristics of hyperkinetic circulation due to increased activity of the sympathetic nerves was found in seven Aptin-responders but only in four placebo-responders. Six Aptin-responders were classified as anxiety states but only four placebo-responders. — The trial illustrates how therapy with a specific drug can reveal differences of probably etiological character in patients constituting a symptomatic entity. Adrenergic beta-blocking therapy in NCA seems to be of value predominately in patients with signs of hyperkinetic circulation and/or anxiety states.
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Furberg, C., Morsing, C. Adrenergic beta-receptor blockade in neurocirculatory asthenia. Pharmacol. Clin. 1, 168–171 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00456940
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00456940