
Originally Posted by
jtuner77
ephedrine is a non-selective adrenergic receptor agonist. Meaning it will hit all your receptors, alpha and beta alike. However, ephedrine doesn't interact with these receptors directly. It is through the release of noradrenaline, which ephedrine stimulates, that affects adrenergic activity. The amount of NA released will determine the usage of the receptors. Plus, as we know, ephedrine's half life is about 4 hours, very short as compared to a whole class of other beta agonist drugs. Given the fact that it is a whole lot less potent than specific beta-2 agonists (non-selective), work's indirectly through NA stimulus, and has a relatively short half life; the amount of beta receptor down regulation should not be very subsequent. Not denying there will be some down regulation, but not much to actually worry if you take the recommended 25mg x 3 times a day. So in essense, a fairly long while. (depending on the individual and resistance to CNS stimulants)
If you are using other beta-agonists along with it, then that's a whole other set of variables.