GRISEOFULVIN, an antibiotic with fungistatic properties, has relieved such peripheral vascular disorders as shoulder-hand syndrome1 and arterial spasm of the hand associated with onychomycosis.2 In the latter study it was also observed that one patient with angina pectoris obtained complete relief from anginal episodes during treatment. More recently, DePasquale et al3 reported that the drug reduced the number of attacks of angina pectoris in each of ten patients. Since there is apparently no available pharmacological information concerning the coronary vascular effects of griseofulvin, some of these effects were investigated in animals and the results interpreted in relation to the cited clinical findings.
Methods and Results
When griseofulvin (Fulvicin), 10 to 100μg, was injected into the cannulated left anterior descending coronary artery of anesthetized, open-chest dogs, coronary blood flow, as measured by the Shipley-Wilson rotameter,4 was increased and arterial pressure was unchanged. The volume injected did not