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Norepinephrine itself is classified as a sympathomimetic drug: its effects when given by intravenous injection of increasing heart rate and force and constricting blood vessels make it very useful for treating medical emergencies that involve critically low blood pressure. [35]
Norepinephrine, also known as noradrenaline and sold under the brand name Levophed among others, is a medication used to treat people with very low blood pressure. [2] It is the typical medication used in sepsis if low blood pressure does not improve following intravenous fluids . [ 3 ]
The narrowing of blood vessels leads to an increase in peripheral resistance, thereby elevating blood pressure. While vasoconstriction is a normal and essential regulatory mechanism for maintaining blood pressure and redistributing blood flow during various physiological processes, its dysregulation can contribute to pathological conditions.
Blood vessels with α 1-adrenergic receptors are present in the skin, the sphincters [4] of gastrointestinal system, kidney (renal artery) [5] and brain. [6] During the fight-or-flight response vasoconstriction results in decreased blood flow to these organs. This accounts for the pale appearance of the skin of an individual when frightened.
Examples of sympathomimetic effects include increases in heart rate, force of cardiac contraction, and blood pressure. [1] The primary endogenous agonists of the sympathetic nervous system are the catecholamines (i.e., epinephrine [adrenaline], norepinephrine [noradrenaline], and dopamine ), which function as both neurotransmitters and hormones .
The main endogenous agonist of these cell receptors is norepinephrine (NE). The adrenergic receptors exert opposite physiologic effects in the vascular smooth muscle under activation: alpha-1 receptors. Under NE binding alpha-1 receptors cause vasoconstriction (contraction of the vascular smooth muscle cells decreasing the diameter of the ...
Two catecholamines, norepinephrine and dopamine, act as neuromodulators in the central nervous system and as hormones in the blood circulation. The catecholamine norepinephrine is a neuromodulator of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system but is also present in the blood (mostly through "spillover" from the synapses of the sympathetic system).
Notable effects of adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine) include increased heart rate and blood pressure, blood vessel constriction in the skin and gastrointestinal tract, smooth muscle (bronchiole and capillary) dilation, and increased metabolism, all of which are characteristic of the fight-or-flight response. [1]