COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTIHISTAMINES IN SUPPRESSION OF THE DECIDUAL CELL REACTION IN THE PSEUDOPREGNANT RAT

Abstract

IN EXPERIMENTS undertaken to investigate the “non-specific” stimulus required to initiate the decidual cell reaction of the pseudopregnant uterus, it was demonstrated that topical application of diphenhydramine HC1 (Shelesnyak, 1952a) and phenazoline HC1 and promethazine HGL (Shelesnayak 1952b) inhibited the development of the deciduoma. Although these findings indicate a role of histamine release in the initiation of the decidual reaction, the lack of absolute specificity plus the existence of varied pharmacological actions of the antihistamines did not allow for a sharp definition of the mechanism of inhibition. Of several approaches to the further exploration of the problem of deciduoma inhibition, two related studies were initiated, (1) the influence of various histamine antagonists with different activities and actions, and (2) the effect of various drugs with properties of certain antihistamines. This is a report of the relative effectiveness of seven histamine antagonists in the suppression of the decidual cell response of the pseudopregnant endometrium of the rat.