We enrolled 125 neurologically normal patients with intracranial aneurysms in a multi-institution, prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial within 96 hours of their subarachnoid hemorrhage, to determine whether treatment with the calcium blocker nimodipine would prevent or reduce the severity of ischemic neurologic deficits from arterial spasm. A deficit from cerebral arterial spasm that persisted and was severe or caused death by the end of the 21-day treatment period occurred in 8 of 60 patients given placebo and in 1 of 56 given nimodipine (P = 0.03, Fisher's exact test). Analysis of the amount of basal subarachnoid blood on pre-entry CAT scans in patients with deficits from spasm showed that an increase in subarachnoid blood was not associated with a worse neurologic outcome among patients who received nimodipine, unlike the situation in patients given a placebo. There were no side effects from nimodipine. We conclude that nimodipine should be given to patients who are neurologically normal after subarachnoid hemorrhage in order to reduce the occurrence of severe neurologic deficits due to cerebral arterial spasm.

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Nimodipine (BAY e 9736) is a Ca2+-channel antagonist of a dihydropyridine type. Its chemical name is 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-4-(3-nitrophenyl)-3,5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid 2-methoxyethyl-1-methylethyl ester ( Fig.

The present studies show that nimodipine prevents and/or improves permanent ischemic neurological deficits in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. This was particularly marked in four double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in which statistically significant reductions in mortality and morbidity as consequence of cerebral vasospasm were found. The drug has been shown to increase cerebral blood flow, to reduce vasoconstriction, although not to fully prevent angiographic vasospasm, and to improve central conduction time. Nimodipine did not increase the rate of rebleeding. Its administration during anesthesia does not result in management problems. In general, nimodipine was well tolerated. Side effects were recorded mainly in open studies using the intravenous formulation and consisted mainly of decreases in blood pressure and headaches. Transient increases in liver enzymes may be due to the organic solvent. Hence, all results indicate that patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage will benefit from preventive or therapeutic nimodipine treatment.

A retrosepctive evaluation has been made of blood pressure, pulse rate, and number of anginal attacks per day in twenty-one patients diagnosed as Prinzmetal's Angina and treated with the investigational drug nifedipine. The effect of combining nifedipine with short- and long-acting nitrates or with propranolol was also evaluated. In consideration of the statisically significant reduction in the number of anginal attacks per day, p less than 0.001, together with the non-significant mean changes in blood pressure and pulse rate as well as the compatibility with the other drugs, it is concluded that nifedipine is a very useful drug, in a dose range of 30--120 mg per day, for the treatment of Prinzmetal's Angina. Recorded side-effects were of minimal severity and in no case caused nifedipine therapy to be discontinued.