Talk:Reserpine

Source Clarification

 * “High dose studies in rodents found reserpine to cause fibroadenoma of the breast and malignant tumors of the semen vesicles among others. Early suggestions that reserpine causes breast cancer in women (risk approximately doubled) were not confirmed.”

Would it be possible to name the source for this two sentences? --Gardini 10:13, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Importance
I've given this article an importance rating of "High", due to the fact that it operates under a unique mechanism which is of illustrative importance and the fact that it has been extensively used (particularly in models of monoamine depletion). Fuzzform 20:34, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Strange assertion
The article currently states: "Moreover, reserpine has a peripheral action in many parts of the body, resulting in a preponderance of the cholinergic part of the nervous system (GI tract, smooth muscles vessels)."

This statement appears to mean (1) that reserpine affects many parts of the body directly and individually, (2) that the gastro-intentinal tract and the "smooth muscles vessels" (blood vessels involved in smooth muscles???) are parts of the nervous system, and (3) these parts of the nervous system are, because of the peripheral action of reserpine, made to hold a "preponderance" over some other, unmentioned, part or parts of the nervous system.

The quoted statement is remarkably convoluted structurally and leaves the reader to attempt unsuccessfully to guess what the writer was trying to convey.P0M (talk) 10:24, 7 December 2011 (UTC)


 * (1) is true for any substance that acts on the autonomous nervous system, though the "directly and individually" part is debatable, as such effects are mediated by the autonomous nervous system. That includes having effects on smooth muscles, and the latter in turn include those found on the walls of blood vessels (namely arteries), which would be (2). And reserpine acts on the cholinergic, rather than the adrenergic part of the autonomous nervous system, causing, yes, a preponderance of the former part over the latter (3). So, none of the three assumed meanings is false, really.


 * However, the phrase still has clarity problems, because it does not separate general smooth muscles (such as those found in the digestive tract and urinary system) from those found in blood vessels, and confusingly implies that only blood vessels of smooth muscles are affected - if it were so, reserpine would not have any anti-hypertensive effect. It also implies that the GI tract and the "smooth muscles vessels" are subject only to cholinergic (parasympathetic) action, when in fact they are equally subject to adrenergic (sympathetic) effects in homeostasis.


 * Therefore, I have changed the phrase to "...resulting in a preponderance of the effects of the cholinergic part of the autonomous nervous system on the GI tract, smooth muscles, blood vessels, etc." I hope this is clear and unambiguous enough. --UrsoBR (talk) 00:35, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Reserpine NPOV
This article contained multiple assertions that were inaccurate and not supported by evidence. Unlike many other antihypertensive drugs, there are multiple, large, well-conducted studies demonstrating that reserpine reduces mortality in people with hypertension. The reduction in use of reserpine was (in part) due to a concerted marketing efforts in support of competing products. See, for example: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-9236(96)90193-9

The adverse effects section needs work still.Sbelknap (talk) 17:57, 27 December 2018 (UTC)

Extensive work remains for updating this article.Sbelknap (talk) 06:43, 29 December 2018 (UTC)