Alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blockade does not affect ventilation during exercise in man.

Alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blockade does not affect ventilation during exercise in man. Med. Sci. Sports Exercise, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 375-379, 1980. Combined alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blockade was used to study the role of the exercise induced stimulation of the adrenergic system on exercise hyperpnea. Twelve subjects performed an uninterrupted graded exercise test until exhaustion, before and during treatment with the alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blocker labetalol. In the control study, plasma noradrenaline rose on the average 4.3 times during maximal exercise and plasma adrenaline 2.7 times, with similar data during labetalol. Labetalol did not affect oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide output, respiratory exchange ratio, pulmonary ventilation, nor the ventilatory equivalents for O2 and for CO2 at rest recumbent, at rest sitting, and during submaximal and maximal exercise, nor did it affect the anaerobic threshold. These findings do not substantiate a role for the adrenergic system in exercise hyperpnea in the conditions of the present study.