Effects of beta-adrenergic receptor blockade on airway conductance and lung volume in normal and asthmatic subjects.

Ten normal and five asthmatic subjects were given intravenous injections of 10 ml. of 0.9% saline with and without 10 mg. of propranolol, and specific airway conductance was followed in a whole-body plethysmograph. Saline alone had no significant effect on conducatance in either group of subjects. Propranolol had no significant effect on conductance in normal subjects, but caused a mean fall of 34.9% in the asthmatics.