Verapamil

Verapamil (brand names: Isoptin®, Verelan®, Calan®) is a medical drug that acts as an L-type calcium channel blocker. It is used in the treatment of hypertension, angina pectoris, and some types of arrhythmia. more...

Verapamil is generally effective for migraine but it takes about 2 weeks to work. Verapamil is effective in migraine variants such as hemiplegic migraine (Yu and Horowitz, 2003). It also may be helpful in Menieres disease, although this has not yet been documented by a controlled study. Nimodipine has been reported to be helpful for Meniere's disease.

Verapamil is a class IV antiarrhythmic agent, and decreases conduction through the AV node.

Some possible side effects of the drug are headaches, facial flushing, dizziness, swelling, and constipation.

Verapamil is also used in cell biology as an inhibitor of drug efflux pump proteins such as P-glycoprotein. This is useful as many tumor cell lines overexpress drug efflux pumps, limiting the effectiveness of cytotoxic drugs or fluorescent tags. Its also used in fluorescent cell sorting for DNA content, as it blocks efflux of a variety of DNA-binding fluorochromes such as Hoechst 33342.

In case of emergency/overdose

In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911.

Source

• Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 1996;36:161-8. P-glycoproteins and multidrug resistance. Bellamy WT.

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