Hexamethonium Man (Paton, 1954)

“He is a pink complexioned person, except when he has stood for a long time, when he may get pale and faint. His handshake is warm and dry. . . . He is thin because his appetite is modest; he never feels hunger pains and his stomach never rumbles. . . . As old age comes on he will suffer from retention of urine and impotence but frequency, precipitancy, and strangury will not worry him.”

Background:

• This description by Paton, in 1954, summarises the effects of pharmacologic blockade of ganglionic transmission.
• Hexamethonium blocks ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
• Hexamethonium thus causes dysfunction of the efferent sympathetic & parasympathetic pathways.

Consequences of this disruption include:

• Erectile dysfunction
• Impaired bladder emptying
• Orthostatic hypotension
• Saliva production decreased
• Sweating absence (anhidrosis)
• Tear production decreased

Reference:
Paton WD. Transmission and block in autonomic ganglia. Pharmacol Rev 1954;6:59-67

Image: from http://ridzuanzaidi.blogspot.com/

Tags: Anhidrosis - Autonomic Nervous System - Erectile Dysfunction - Hexamethonium - Hypotension - Man - Orthostatic Hypotension - Parasympathetic Nervous System - Sympathetic Nervous System - Sweating
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