Journal of Clinical & Experimental Pharmacology

Abstract

In vitro and In vivo Study of Effect of α-Adrenergic Agonist-Methyldopa on the Serum Biochemical Laboratory Findings

Ibrahim Abdel Aziz Ibrahim*,Naiyer Shahzad,Fawwaz S. Al-Joudi,Saeed S. Al-Ghamdi,Mustafa Ahmed Alshagga,Nehad M. Hammodi

Objectives: The effects of the antihypertensive drug methyldopa on biochemical laboratory findings were monitored both in vitro and in vivo particularly those of metabolites and enzymes which are routinely requested by physicians. Methods: In vitro and in vivo studies were performed. For the in vitro study, solutions of methyldopa concentrations were prepared according to its maximum serum concentration as reported in the literature and were added to blank, normal serum. The samples were then analyzed in parallel with a standard test using the same laboratory techniques. For the in vivo study, blood was collected before starting and two weeks after starting methyldopa therapy from 40 subjects that were newly diagnosed with essential hypertension. The control sera were collected from 30 healthy volunteers of comparable ages. The samples were analyzed for glucose, Total Protein (TP), urea, creatinine, Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), Aspartate Transaminase (AST), Alanine Transaminase (ALT), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) and Creatine Kinase (CK). Results: In the in vitro study, methyldopa induced a decrease in the readings of serum glucose, TP, urea, TC, AST, ALT, and CK, whereas the LDH levels recorded an increase. In vivo study of methyldopa leads to increase the levels of serum glucose, TP, urea, TC, TG, AST, ALT and LDH. Conclusions: Methyldopa induced significant alterations in the in vitro as well as in the in vivo measurements. These alterations are required to be taken seriously by physicians to avoid misinterpretations of data generated during routine practice. All the in vitro changes in biochemical parameters are a result of chemical or physical reactions, whereas the in vivo changes resulted mostly from physiological or metabolic factors.