Effects of the beta-adrenoceptor blocking agent sotalol on CNS: sleep, EEG, and psychophysiological parameters.

Sotalol (Sotalex), 320 or 960 mg, was administered to 12 healthy subjects daily for a period of four days in a double-blind trial over 11 days. The effects of sotalol on heart rate, blood pressure, EEG, subjective quality of sleep, polygraphically determined sleep pattern, and psychophysiological parameters such as psychomotor performance, memory, perception, vigilance, and general condition were studied and were related to dosage and plasma levels. Steady-state plasma levels of sotalol were reached within 24 hours after a single dose; 960 mg resulted in plasma levels three times higher than those reached with 320 mg, which indicates first-order linear absorption. The effects of sotalol on EEG, sleep, and performance in psychological tests were equivocal and do not yield evidence for CNS activity of sotalol.