A dose of reserpine 0.5 mg/day or greater achieved the SBP effects .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Reserpine is effective in reducing SBP roughly to the same degree as other first-line antihypertensive drugs .
BACKGROUND Many antihypertensive agents exist today for the treatment of primary hypertension ( systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg , or both ) .
R and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) have been carried out to investigate the evidence for these agents .
There is , for example , strong RCT evidence that thiazides reduce mortality and morbidity .
Some of those trials used reserpine as a second-line therapy .
However , the dose-related blood pressure reduction with this agent is not known .
OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to quantify the dose-related efficacy of reserpine versus placebo or no treatment in reducing systolic blood pressure ( SBP ) or diastolic blood pressure ( DBP ) , or both .
We also aim ed to evaluate the dose-related effects of reserpine  on mean arterial blood pressure ( MAP ) and heart rate ( HR ) , as well as the dose-related effects on withdrawals due to adverse events .
[The effect of an antihypertensive drug during psychological stress. A double-blind study].
A sample of 20 patients suffering hypertension ( with a moderate rise in blood pressure ) was r and omly divided into two treatment groups of equal size . The patients of one group received antihypertension treatment with the combination drug Briserin ¿ ( containing 0.1 mg reserpine , 5 mg clopamide , 0.5 mg dihydroergocristin/per tablet ) ; the other patients who served as  control group  , received a matched placebo . After a fortnight 's treatment , the responsiveness of both groups to five different psychologically stressing situations ( those with cognitive and /or emotional overload ) was tested . Analysis of covariance revealed clinical ly significant differences in the mean systolic and diastolic pressure scores of the two groups . The scores of the treatment group were lower not only under stress but also at rest . There was in interaction between rise of blood pressure under stress and kind of stress in the two groups , i.e. , in situations with heavy emotional and /or cognitive load the differences in the pressure scores of the two groups were less substantial than in situations with a low or medium load . The treatment had no systematic effect on heart rate in this sample . In the treatment group reaction time , perceptual speed , and short-term memory were impaired as compared with the control group ; but these differences did not reach a level of significance
A dose of reserpine 0.5 mg/day or greater achieved the SBP effects .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Reserpine is effective in reducing SBP roughly to the same degree as other first-line antihypertensive drugs .
BACKGROUND Many antihypertensive agents exist today for the treatment of primary hypertension ( systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg , or both ) .
R and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) have been carried out to investigate the evidence for these agents .
There is , for example , strong RCT evidence that thiazides reduce mortality and morbidity .
Some of those trials used reserpine as a second-line therapy .
However , the dose-related blood pressure reduction with this agent is not known .
OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to quantify the dose-related efficacy of reserpine versus placebo or no treatment in reducing systolic blood pressure ( SBP ) or diastolic blood pressure ( DBP ) , or both .
We also aim ed to evaluate the dose-related effects of reserpine  on mean arterial blood pressure ( MAP ) and heart rate ( HR ) , as well as the dose-related effects on withdrawals due to adverse events .