Vertigo of various and often unknown aetiologies has been associated with and attributed to impaired microvascular perfusion in the inner ear or the vertebrobasilar system.
Vertigoheel is a low-dose combination preparation of proven value in the symptomatic treatment of
vertigo. In the present study we tested the hypothesis that
Vertigoheel's anti-vertiginous properties may in part be due to a vasodilatory effect exerted via stimulation of the adenylate and/or
guanylate cyclase pathways. Thus, the influence of
Vertigoheel or its single constituents on synthesis and degradation of
cyclic nucleotides was measured. Furthermore, vessel myography was used to observe the effect of
Vertigoheel on the vasoreactivity of rat carotid arteries.
Vertigoheel and one of its constituents, Anamirta cocculus, stimulated
adenylate cyclase activity, while another constituent, Conium maculatum, inhibited
phosphodiesterase 5, suggesting that the individual constituents of
Vertigoheel contribute differentially to a synergistic stimulation of
cyclic nucleotide signalling pathways. In rat carotid artery rings,
Vertigoheel counteracted
phenylephrine-induced tonic vasoconstriction. The present data demonstrate a
vasorelaxant effect of
Vertigoheel that goes along with a synergistic stimulation of
cyclic nucleotide pathways and may provide a mechanistic basis for the documented anti-vertiginous effects of this combination preparation.