Administration of a mixture of propiomazine (a phenothiazine derivative) and epinephrine markedly inhibited development of the tuberculin reaction when given at three different dose levels and by the s.c. or i.p. routes of administration. Inhibition was produced when the animals were treated prior to sensitization or when initiation of treatment was delayed until time of sensitization. Inhibition was also produced by short-term treatment at time of sensitization or at challenge. The mechanisms involved in the synergistic effect produced by the combination of epinephrine and propiomazine are under investigation. The combination is thought to operate by maintaining the integrity of cellular and subcellular membrane systems which causes such cells and tissues to be refractory to noxious stimuli and unreactive to stimulation by antigen. Epinephrine or propiomazine when used alone in actively sensitized guinea pigs resulted in only slight or no inhibition of the tuberculin reaction.
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