Effects of flunoxaprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, on the cardiovascular system.

The effects of flunoxaprofen (FL) were investigated using anesthetized normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) young and old rats. The animals were divided into two groups. One group received a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent at doses significantly inhibiting prostaglandin (PG)-cyclooxygenase; the other received no non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Oral pretreatment of anesthetized rats with flunoxaprofen (6.6, 11.5, and 19.9 mg/kg/day in the feed for 560 days) significantly increased the following responses: occlusion of the common carotid arteries, and reactivity to L-noradrenaline (NA) (i.v.), and angiotensin II (Ang) (i.v.). Pressor responses also increased in normotensive and in SHR rats treated with FL (20 mg/kg/day for seven days). The effects were more intense in the SHR rats. Moreover, oral pretreatment of normotensive rats with FL (20 mg/kg/day for seven days) partially yet significantly reduced the antihypertensive activity of etozolin (ET), a diuretic and antihypertensive drug. Our data confirm the important role of prostaglandins in the regulation of the cardiovascular system, and an increase in arachidonic acid metabolite biosynthesis with vasodilatory effects being part of the mechanism of action of some antihypertensive drugs.