Arousal and stability: the effects of five new sympathomimetic drugs suggest a new principle for the prevention of space motion sickness.

Abstract

Sympathomimetic agents are frequent components in antimotion-sickness drug combinations because of their usefulness in counteracting the sedation caused by stressful motion or resulting from the administration of other antimotion-sickness drugs. The noradrenergic neurochemistry of the brain's arousal-attentional systems prompted us to evaluate the efficacy of five new sympathomimetic drugs and to further define the role of arousal in susceptibility to motion. Subjects were orally administered methamphetamine (20 mg), phenmetrazine (25 mg), phentermine (37.5 mg), methylphenidate (20 mg), or pemoline (75 mg) 2 h prior to taking a Staircase Profile Test. All of the drugs increased resistance to stressful coriolis stimulation by 80-120%. Methylphenidate and pemoline showed fewer side effects. These findings, interpreted in conjunction with the documented inefficacy of most anticholinergic and antihistaminergic drugs tested to date, suggest that sympathomimetic drugs or a generalized state of arousal can inhibit the development of motion sickness.

• Authors: R L Kohl, D S Calkins, A J Mandell
• Journal: Aviation, space, and environmental medicine (Aviat Space Environ Med) Vol. 57 Issue 2 Pg. 137-43 (Feb 1986) ISSN: 0095-6562 [Print] United States
• PMID: 3513752 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Comparative Study, Controlled Clinical Trial, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Sympathomimetics
• Methylphenidate
• Methamphetamine
• Pemoline
• Phentermine
• Phenmetrazine

Topics

• Clinical Trials as Topic
• Coriolis Force
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Methamphetamine (therapeutic use)
• Methylphenidate (therapeutic use)
• Motion Sickness (prevention & control)
• Pemoline (therapeutic use)
• Phenmetrazine (therapeutic use)
• Phentermine (therapeutic use)
• Space Flight
• Sympathomimetics (therapeutic use)