Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Pivot Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Target Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Query: EC:3.4.15.1 (
ACE
)
18,300
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors exert their beneficial effects not only via endocrine mechanisms, but most probably also via interference with autocrine-paracrine actions involving local renin-angiotensin and kallikrein-kinin systems with subsequent autacoid release. Inhibition of ACE (
kininase II
) results in the reduction of angiotensin II generation and kinin degradation, leading to beneficial cardiovascular effects. Bradykinin and prostacyclin release from isolated rat hearts was increased by local ACE inhibitions with ramiprilat. In different models the bradykinin-mediated effects of ACE inhibition were abolished with the specific B2 kinin-receptor antagonist Hoe 140: The cardioprotective effects of ramiprilat or ramipril such as reduction of postischemic reperfusion injuries in isolated rat hearts or the reduction in infarct size in dogs and rabbits were abolished by coadministration of Hoe 140. Furthermore, left
ventricular hypertrophy
in rats with aortic banding could be prevented or regression was induced when the ACE inhibitor was given in a non-blood pressure-lowering dose. These beneficial effects were also abolished by Hoe 140. In conclusion, in different experimental models, ACE inhibitors exert cardioprotective effects. An enhancement of endothelial autacoid formation (nitric oxide and prostacyclin) by inhibiting degradation of bradykinin may contribute to these effects.
...
PMID:Role of bradykinin in the cardiac effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. 128 35
In patients in whom monotherapy does not control blood pressure a second agent is required. Common combinations in clinical practice are a beta-blocker plus a diuretic, an
angiotensin converting enzyme
(
ACE
) inhibitor plus a diuretic, a beta-blocker plus a dihydropyridine calcium antagonist, and an
ACE
inhibitor plus a calcium antagonist. Since both
ACE
inhibitors and calcium antagonists are metabolically inert and exert favorable effects on target organ disease, their combination is of particular interest. When combined, these two drug classes have additive effects on antihypertensive efficacy, reduction of left
ventricular hypertrophy
, and protection of the renal circulation. However, whether or not these favorable pathophysiologic changes induced with combination therapy of
ACE
inhibitors and calcium antagonists will translate into a reduction of morbidity and mortality remains to be documented.
...
PMID:Combination therapy in hypertension. 128 9
Diabetes mellitus (DM)-linked metabolic alterations and hypertension concomitantly accelerate or precipitate cerebrovascular and coronary heart disease, nephropathy, retinopathy and widespread macroangiopathy, thereby conferring to diabetic patients a very high risk of morbidity, disability and early death. Therefore, the long-term care for diabetic patients should be aimed at concomitant metabolic and blood pressure (BP) control. Dietary measures are indispensable; a high fibre, low fat, low salt diet is recommended, complemented with caloric restriction and physical exercise when body weight is above the ideal. Antidiabetic pharmacotherapy involves an unresolved dilemma. The desired achievement of euglycemia necessitates effective levels of insulin, but hyperinsulinemia (due to parenteral [over]treatment in insulin-dependent DM) is suspected to promote atherogenesis and represents a coronary risk factor and perhaps even facilitates hypertension. Considering antihypertensive pharmacotherapy, thiazide-type or loop diuretics are problematic drugs in DM because they can aggravate metabolic alterations. These agents also seem to exert only a limited preventive or regressive effect on left
ventricular hypertrophy
(LVH); beta-blockers are also not considered ideal, since they decrease the awareness of hypoglycemia and tend to promote glucose intolerance. Unselective beta-blockers in particular promote peripheral ischemia and insulin-induced hypoglycemia, while beta-blockers without intrinsic sympathomimetic activity lower serum HDL-cholesterol. Calcium antagonists and
ACE
inhibitors have equivalent antihypertensive efficacy, do not impair carbohydrate and lipid homeostasis or peripheral perfusion and can effectively improve LVH. Certain
ACE
inhibitors may even slightly ameliorate abnormal insulin sensitivity and plasma glucose levels. While alpha-blockers share most of these desirable properties, these agents are more prone to precipitate orthostatic hypotension in the diabetic patient. The non-thiazide diuretic indapamide and the serotonin2-antagonist ketanserin also combine antihypertensive efficacy with metabolic neutrality. The ultimate goal of therapy is to improve life prognosis. In essential hypertension, conventional drug treatment based on diuretics in high dosage satisfactorily reduced cerebrovascular but not coronary complications or sudden death. In diabetic patients, the influence of antihypertensive therapy on prognosis has not been assessed prospectively. Based on retrospective analyses, Warram et al reported a 3.8 times higher mortality in diabetics treated with diuretics alone, than in diabetics with untreated hypertension (Arch Intern Med. 1991;151:1350). H. H. Parving calculated that effective BP control in patients with diabetic nephropathy might reduce 10 year-mortality from about 65 to 20 percent (J Hypertension. 1990; 8[Suppl 7]:187).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
...
PMID:Antihypertensive therapy in diabetic patients. 128 10
Left
ventricular hypertrophy
is a major risk factor associated with the appearance of adverse cardiovascular events. A distortion in myocardial structure, mediated by an abnormal accumulation of fibrillar collagen within the adventitia of intramyocardial coronary arteries and neighbouring interstitial spaces, alters the electrical and mechanical behaviour of the myocardium. The mechanisms responsible for the regulation of cardiac myocyte growth and collagen accumulation are therefore of considerable interest. Herein we review results of in vivo studies conducted in the authors' laboratory that addressed these issues in various experimental models. The findings indicate that in arterial hypertension myocardial hypertrophy is related to ventricular systolic pressure work. Myocardial fibrosis, on the other hand, is not related to haemodynamic workload, but rather the presence of mineralocorticoid excess relative to sodium intake and excretion. Accordingly, fibrosis can appear in both the hypertensive left and non-hypertensive right ventricles. Pharmacological probes, administered in variable doses, were used to further test and support this hypothesis. In both primary and secondary hyperaldosteronism, it was possible to prevent the pathological structural remodelling of the myocardium with an aldosterone receptor antagonist, while in unilateral renal ischaemia
ACE
inhibition was similarly cardioprotective. Other studies demonstrated that it was feasible to regress the fibrous tissue response and normalise diastolic stiffness. This concept of cardioreparation suggests that heart failure due to this type of structural remodelling may be reversible.
...
PMID:Regulatory mechanisms of myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis: results of in vivo studies. 130 Dec 54
There are four possible pathophysiological mechanisms which may relate left
ventricular hypertrophy
(LVH) with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality: LVH diminishes left ventricular filling; LVH decreases coronary reserve and hampers myocardial oxygenation; LVH is commonly associated with ventricular arrhythmias, and with long-standing LVH, left ventricular contractility decreases. LVH can be reduced by a range of antihypertensive drugs, although not all drugs are equipotent in this regard. Two recent meta-analyses have indicated that
ACE
inhibitors are among the most powerful monotherapeutic modalities to reduce LVH. Calcium channel blockers are almost as effective, whereas beta-blockers and diuretics seem to have a lesser effect, despite equipotent antihypertensive properties. Reducing LVH with
ACE
inhibitors and calcium channel blockers has been shown to improve contractility and left ventricular filling, and diminish ventricular ectopy. A preliminary study also indicates that coronary reserve increases after reduction in LVH. Despite these promising pathophysiological signs, it remains unknown whether or not a reduction in LVH will reduce morbidity and mortality over and above the reduction achieved by a reduction in arterial pressure alone.
...
PMID:Selection of antihypertensive therapy: cardiac and extracardiac considerations. 130 Dec 59
We describe our observations concerning differences in two groups of young hypertensive patients according to their renin activities after
ACE
inhibition. Seventeen of these patients (age 26 +/- 7 years), so far untreated, were investigated prospectively for hormone levels (renin, aldosterone, vasopressin), microalbuminuria, renal haemodynamics (inulin and PAH clearance) and signs of organ damage (echocardiography, fundoscopy). Secondary forms of hypertension were excluded by routine methods, including angiography. We differentiated two groups of young hypertensive patients. Group 1 (n = 9) had a false positive captopril test with elevated renin activities after
ACE
inhibition with captopril (8.4 +/- 5 ng/ml per hour) compared to group 2 (renin activity: 2.2 +/- 1.3 ng/ml per hour) or an increase of greater than 400% of renin activity after
ACE
inhibition. Baseline renin activities and sodium excretion did not differ between the groups. Group 1 also showed significantly greater GFR, FF, and microalbuminuria, as well as signs of organ damage, with left
ventricular hypertrophy
and hypertensive changes in fundoscopy. There were no differences between the groups concerning mean arterial blood pressure and duration of hypertension. In conclusion, we were able to demonstrate that patients with highly stimulated renin activities showed signs of visceral organ damage and renal hyperfiltration compared to the normal renin activity group after
ACE
inhibition. Investigations of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system with
ACE
inhibitors might constitute a helpful indicator of renal changes and organ damages in young hypertensive patients.
...
PMID:Renal haemodynamics and organ damage in young hypertensive patients with different plasma renin activities after ACE inhibition. 131 92
We investigated the preventive effects of long-term treatment with the
angiotensin converting enzyme
inhibitor ramipril on myocardial left
ventricular hypertrophy
and capillary length density in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Rats were treated in utero and subsequently up to 20 weeks of age with a high dose (1 mg/kg per day) or with a low dose (0.01 mg/kg per day) of ramipril. Animals given a high dose of ramipril remained normotensive, whereas those given a low dose developed hypertension in parallel to vehicle-treated controls. At the end of the treatment period, converting enzyme activity in heart tissue was inhibited dose-dependently in the treated groups. Both groups revealed an increase in myocardial capillary length density together with increased myocardial glycogen and reduced citric acid concentrations. Left ventricular mass was reduced only in high dose- but not in low dose-treated animals. Our results demonstrate that early onset treatment with a converting enzyme inhibitor can induce myocardial capillary proliferation, even at doses too low to antagonize the development of hypertension or left
ventricular hypertrophy
. We hypothesize that potentiation of kinins is responsible for this effect, probably by augmenting myocardial blood flow, which is a well-known trigger mechanism of angiogenesis in the heart.
...
PMID:Effect of early onset angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition on myocardial capillaries. 132 47
Hypertensive patients with left
ventricular hypertrophy
(LVH) have increased prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias. Slow conduction velocity at the level of hypertrophic myocardial cells has been one of the postulated mechanisms for these arrhythmias. To assess the effects of
angiotensin converting enzyme
inhibition on modification in ventricular conduction velocities, we studied 25 hypertensive patients with LVH using signal averaged electrocardiography (SAECG) in a randomized double-blind placebo controlled and cross-over trial. Data were acquired at baseline and 10 min after a double-blind intravenous infusion of saline placebo or 2.5 mg enalaprilat. Sequential cross-over was done the next day. Root mean square vector was 55 +/- 5 microV at baseline, 55 +/- 5 microV after placebo and 54 +/- 4 microV after enalaprilat (P = NS). Low amplitude signal < 40 msec was 45 +/- 4 msec at baseline, 45 +/- 4 msec after placebo, and 43 +/- 4 msec after enalaprilat (P = NS). There was no change in filtered QRS (fQRS) duration between baseline (113 +/- 10 msec) and placebo (113 +/- 11 msec) measurements. However, after enalaprilat infusion, there was a significant reduction in fQRS to 106 +/- 7 msec (P = .04), and five patients (20%) with late potentials had normalization of this feature (P = .001). The data suggest that
angiotensin converting enzyme
inhibition with enalaprilat reduces conduction velocity delay in hypertensive patients with LVH.
...
PMID:Reduction in cardiac conduction velocity delay by angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition in hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy. Detection by signal averaged electrocardiography. 133 58
Left
ventricular hypertrophy
(LVH) is a powerful independent risk factor for coronary artery disease. This overview of 104 studies examines the ability of various types of antihypertensive therapies to reverse LVH as assessed by echocardiography. Combination therapy,
angiotensin converting enzyme
(
ACE
) inhibitors, and methyldopa were the most effective in reversing LV mass; vasodilators such as minoxidil and hydralazine had no effect on LVH. These differences were independent of the degree of fall in blood pressure and duration of therapy. beta-blockers were as effective as
ACE
inhibitors in decreasing LV wall thickness. Possible reasons for drug differences in reversing LVH are discussed. Preliminary evidence suggests that reversing LVH by antihypertensive drug therapy is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular complications.
...
PMID:Reversibility of left ventricular hypertrophy. 134 70
Left
ventricular hypertrophy
(LVH) is an independent risk indicator of cardiovascular disease. Obtaining reversal of hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy seems to be a desirable objective of antihypertensive treatment. A total of 2,357 patients were included in a meta-analysis on the effect of antihypertensive pharmacological therapy on LVH. Overall left ventricular mass (LVM) was reduced by 11.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 10.1-13.7) in parallel with a reduction of mean arterial pressure of 14.9% (CI 14.0 to 15.8). When evaluating the effect of first-line therapies on calculated LVM using the same formula for all studies, the absolute reductions in g were 44.7 (
ACE
-inhibitors), 22.8 (beta-blockers), 26.9 (calcium antagonists) and 21.4 (diuretics) when adjusted for differences between studies (ANCOVA). It can be concluded that effective antihypertensive therapy reduces LVM.
ACE
-inhibitors, beta-blockers and calcium antagonists reduce LVM by reducing wall hypertrophy, the effect of
ACE
-inhibitors being the most pronounced. Diuretics reduce LVM mainly through an effect on left ventricular inner diameter. How these effects affect prognosis is still an open question.
...
PMID:Regression of left ventricular hypertrophy--a meta-analysis. 134 56
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next >>