It is about equipotent in blocking beta1- and beta2- receptors.The amount of alpha to beta blockade depends on whether labetalol is administered orally or intravenously (IV). Orally, the ratio of alpha to β blockade is 1:3. Intravenously, alpha to β blockade ratio is 1:7. Thus, the labetalol can be thought to be a beta-blocker with some alpha-blocking effects. By comparison, labetalol is a weaker β-blocker than propranolol, and has a weaker affinity for alpha-receptors compared to Phentolamine.Labetalol possesses intrinsic sympathomimetic activity. In particular, it is a partial agonist at beta2- receptors located in the vascular smooth muscle. Labetalol relaxes vascular smooth muscle by a combination of this partial beta2- agonism and through alpha1- blockade. Overall, this vasodilatory effect can decrease blood pressure.Similar to local anesthetics and sodium channel blocking antiarrhythmics, labetalol also has membrane stabilizing activity. By decreasing sodium entry, labetalol decreases action potential firing and thus has local anesthetic activity. Physiological action
The physiological effects of labetalol when administered acutely (intravenously) are not predictable solely by their receptor blocking effect, i.e. blocking beta1- receptors should decrease heart rate, but labetalol does not. When labetalol is given in acute situations, it decreases the peripheral vascular resistance and systemic blood pressure while having little effect on the heart rate, cardiac output and stroke volume, despite its alpha1-, beta1- and beta2- blocking mechanism. These effects are mainly seen when the person is in the upright position.Long term labetalol use also has different effects from other beta-blocking drugs. Other beta-blockers, such as propranolol, persistently reduce cardiac output during exercise.
The peripheral vascular resistance decreases when labetalol is first administered. Continuous labetalol use further decreases peripheral vascular resistance. However, during exercise, cardiac output remains the same due to a compensatory mechanism that increases stroke volume. Thus, labetalol is able to reduce heart rate during exercise while maintaining cardiac output by the increase in stroke volume. Pharmacokinetics
Labetalol, in animal models, was found to cross the blood-brain-barrier in only negligible amounts. History
Labetalol was the first drug created that combined both alpha- and beta- adrenergic receptor blocking properties. It was created to potentially fix the compensatory reflex issue that occurred when blocking a single receptor subtype, i.e. vasoconstriction after blocking beta-receptors or tachycardia after blocking alpha receptors. Because the reflex from blocking the single receptor subtypes acted to prevent the lowering of blood pressure, it was postulated that weak blocking of both alpha- and beta- receptors could work together to decrease blood pressure. References
External links
"Labetalol". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. "Labetalol hydrochloride". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.