Word: propranolol
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute, which awards the prize, said Black developed a drug called propranolol in 1964 used in the treatment of heart disease. The work of Elion and Hitchings, who have collaborated since 1945, led to a series of drugs for the treatment of cancer...
...Charles Brantigan's prescription of the hypertension drug propranolol as a preventive for stage fright [July 5] is yet another example of ho w our society turns to sedatives both legal and illegal in order to cope with stressful situations. If something makes you that damn nervous...
Stage fright was assessed by wire-free, remote electrocardiogram monitoring during the performance and blood pressure readings before and after. The Brantigans also checked for such outward signs of stress as trembling hands and sweaty brows. By all measures, propranolol stopped the shakes. Heart rates that galloped at an average of 148 beats a minute with a placebo dropped to around 104 with propranolol (70 is a normal resting rate). Even more impressive, critics overwhelmingly favored the propranolol-soothed performances...
Brantigan, who has occasionally taken propranolol to calm himself before delivering a speech, admits that his study poses an ethical dilemma. Propranolol is strong stuff. It belongs to a class of drugs known as beta blockers, which interfere with the nervous stimulation of the cardiovascular system (by blocking "beta receptors" on cells). Though widely used to treat high blood pressure, severe chest pain (angina) and to prevent second heart attacks, beta blockers can be dangerous for people with asthma, hay fever and some types of diabetes and heart conditions. "It would worry me considerably if propranolol were being taken...
...considering a proposal to approve the marketing of propranolol as a palliative for stage fright and other forms of anxiety. Many physicians are aware of this application. Reports one young intern at Johns Hopkins Hospital: "Many of us take a few milligrams before presenting on Grand Rounds-to keep our knees from knocking...