Summary
Caffeine or theophylline, 20 mg/kg i.p., was given to rats. Thirty minutes after the injection of either drug, adrenal dopamine increased 80 and 50%, respectively. This increase was prevented by a C-7 spinal cord transection made 24 h before. In transected animals adrenal dopamine decreased after caffeine; no statistically significant decreases in adrenaline + noradrenaline were observed. It is concluded that caffeine and theophylline activate the tyrosine hydroxylase by a mechanism which depends on a normal or increased nerve impulse flow. In addition, release of adrenal catecholamines may occur both via neurogenic stimulation and directly.
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Snider, S.R., Waldeck, B. Increased synthesis of adrenomedullary catecholamines induced by caffeine and theophylline. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 281, 257–260 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00503502
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00503502