1.
Anti-hypertensive strategies in patients with MEtabolic parameters, DIabetes mellitus and/or NephropAthy (the M E D I N A study).
Spinar, J, Vitovec, J, Soucek, M
Biomedical papers of the Medical Faculty of the University Palacky, Olomouc, Czechoslovakia. 2014;(3):412-21
Abstract
AIMS: The primary questions asked by the MEDINA (MEtabolic parameters, DIabetes mellitus and NephropAthy) study are: 1) Do angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) have any advantages over angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB)? 2) Should the other drug for combination be a diuretic or a calcium-channel blocker (CCB)? 3) How are the risks reduced by the co administration of a statin? METHODS A total of 439 hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome and/or diabetes mellitus were randomized to 2 groups: group 1--ramipril (ACE-I) or perindopril and group 2--losartan (ARB). Hydrochlorothiazide (diuretic) or amlodipine (CCB) were added to both groups. As a third step, a statin was added. RESULTS Blood pressure decreased 24.1/13.3 mmHg in the ACE inhibitor group and 25.9/13.5 in the losartan group. The difference was insignificant. Adding either hydrochlorothiazide or amlodipin was equally effective. There were no significant differences on metabolic parameters in the trial arms. Cholesterol level decreased by 0.95 mmol/L in the ACE-I group and 1.02 mmol/L in the ARB group (ns). CONCLUSION MEDINA has so far confirmed the equivalence of ACE-I and ARB in hypertension treatment. Adding either diuretic or CCB was equally effective. Our data support the current recommendations on adding a statin to reduce cardiovascular risk.
2.
Effect of tablets with a combination of telmisartan and amlodipine on patients with hypertension: the Cotalo study.
Ohishi, M, Kawai, T, Hayashi, N, Kitano, S, Katsuya, T, Nagano, M, Hirotani, A, Yamamoto, K, Kamide, K, Rakugi, H
Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension. 2013;(7):620-6
Abstract
Fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapy with telmisartan 40 mg+amlodipine 5 mg (T40/A5) is expected to achieve tight blood pressure (BP) control because of the strong efficacy and long half-life of each drug. The aims of this study were to evaluate the 24-h antihypertensive efficacy of T40/A5 FDC therapy and to explore differences that may arise owing to different administration times in Japanese patients whose hypertension was not controlled by 5 mg of amlodipine per day. In this randomized clinical trial, 44 patients who had been taking amlodipine 5 mg per day and did not achieve their optimal BP target were enrolled (mean age: 67.8±10.2 years). The subjects were then randomly assigned to a T40/A5 morning or evening administration group (22 patients per group). At baseline and 8 weeks after randomization, we evaluated clinical BP and various laboratory values and performed ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM). Clinical and mean BP evaluated with ABPM at 8 weeks (24 h, daytime, nighttime and early morning) were significantly decreased compared with BP at baseline. There were no significant differences in the diurnal BP profile change from baseline to 8 weeks between subjects in the morning and evening administration groups. There were also no significant differences in the diurnal BP profile change from baseline to 8 weeks between subjects with or without metabolic syndrome. We conclude that T40/A5 FDC therapy significantly decreased the 24-h mean and clinical BP, independent of administration time, in patients whose hypertension was not controlled by 5 mg of amlodipine.