Effects of etoperidone on sympathetic and pituitary-adrenal responses to diverse stressors in humans.

The effects of the psychotropic drug etoperidone on the response to laboratory stressors was investigated in a controlled study. Cardiovascular and hormonal (catecholamines, corticotropin, and cortisol) measurements were made in a group of young, healthy volunteers during a cold pressor test (CPT), a mental arithmetic test (MAT), and insulin-induced hypoglycaemia (ITT). One-week treatment with etoperidone (ETO) (150 mg/day, orally) reduced basal and stress-induced values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) on CPT, while it did not alter catecholamine output in response to the stressor. Cardiovascular response was also attenuated after ETO on MAT, in the absence of any hormone changes. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol secretions were markedly reduced on ITT after ETO, whereas catecholamine outflow and cardiovascular parameters were substantially unaffected. These findings on ITT suggest that the anti-serotoninergic and anti-alpha 1-adrenergic activities of ETO may be used in the pharmacological control of the potentially detrimental consequences of the stress response.