Dibenamine hydrochloride® (N,N-dibenzyl-beta-chloroethylamine hydrochloride) is a sympatholytic and adrenolytic drug which is undergoing clinical trial in the treatment of peripheral vascular disorders.1 Its properties have been reviewed by Nickerson and Goodman2 and others.3 The intravenous administration of this preparation results in an increased peripheral blood flow, an elevation of the skin temperature, and, in the resting normotensive person, little or no change in arterial blood pressure.2b The blood pressure is reduced to normal or near normal levels in patients with benign or moderately advanced essential hypertension, but not in subjects with malignant hypertension.3b The drug greatly reduces the pressor response to intravenously administered epinephrine and is thought to act by exerting a direct blocking effect on the receptors innervated by excitatory adrenergic fibers.2b
A number of untoward effects from dibenamine hydrochloride® have been reported. Nausea, vomiting, nasal congestion, sweating, palpitation, drowsiness, confusion, restlessness and