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Query: UMLS:C0085580 (essential hypertension)
14,686 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pinacidil is an orally administered antihypertensive drug that acts via direct relaxation of vascular smooth muscle to produce peripheral vasodilatation and a reduction in blood pressure without significant direct effects on cardiac electrophysiology. Pinacidil is unrelated to other antihypertensive drugs in clinical use, either in structure or mechanism of action. It belongs to a new class of agents called 'potassium channel openers' which act via potassium efflux to hyperpolarize cell membranes, indirectly causing a net reduction in intracellular calcium that leads to relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. Pinacidil is indicated in the management of essential hypertension. In clinical trials of up to 1 year duration, pinacidil administered twice daily in a controlled release capsule formulation has been shown to achieve adequate blood pressure control both in previously untreated patients and in those with blood pressure inadequately controlled by beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs or thiazide diuretics. In long term (up to 1 year) comparative studies pinacidil was at least as effective as hydralazine, prazosin or nifedipine in maintaining blood pressure control. Pinacidil may also have a potential use in the treatment of patients with secondary renal hypertension. Clinical trials to date have usually allowed the addition of a thiazide diuretic and/or beta-adrenoceptor blocking drug to enhance the efficacy of pinacidil and/or to reduce the incidence of adverse effects. The main adverse effects of pinacidil treatment, which result from its peripheral vasodilator activity, are headache, oedema, palpitations and tachycardia. Although the overall incidence of adverse effects is quite high, they are usually mild, transient in nature and respond to a reduction in dose. Nevertheless, these effects may occasionally be severe, necessitating withdrawal from therapy. Thus, pinacidil is an effective antihypertensive drug for the treatment of mild to moderate essential hypertension. Despite its novel mechanism of action pinacidil causes adverse effects typical of peripheral vasodilators; during long term use with twice daily administration of the controlled release capsule formulation, the addition of a diuretic is often necessary to attenuate peripheral oedema and maintain adequate control of blood pressure. Further long term controlled trials are needed to determine the precise role of pinacidil relative to that of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and calcium channel blocking drugs.
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PMID:Pinacidil. A review of its pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, and therapeutic potential in the treatment of hypertension. 219 68

Chronic responses of systemic hemodynamics and blood pressure counterregulatory ("pseudo-tolerance") mechanisms were investigated in matched groups of patients with essential hypertension after 1 month of vasodilator therapy with pinacidil (a direct arterial dilator), prazosin (an alpha 1-adrenergic blocking drug) or captopril (an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor). For equivalent decreases in mean arterial pressure compared with placebo baseline (approximately 8 mm Hg supine and 12 mm Hg upright), prazosin and captopril did not increase cardiac index or heart rate. In contrast, marked decreases in systemic vascular resistance with pinacidil (approximately 25%, p less than 0.05) were accompanied by reflex increases in cardiac index (approximately 20%, p less than 0.05). Activity of the sympathetic nervous system, measured by supine and upright plasma norepinephrine (NE), increased approximately 50% with pinacidil and prazosin (p less than 0.001 each), whereas captopril decreased supine plasma NE by 12% (p less than 0.05) and did not change upright plasma NE. All 3 drugs caused an expansion of height-adjusted blood volume (approximately 14%). Pinacidil and prazosin caused reversible weight gains of 0.9 and 0.7 kg, respectively, whereas captopril reversibly decreased body weight by 0.8 kg (p less than 0.05), suggesting differential effects of the 3 drugs on interstitial fluid volume. During chronic therapy, all 3 drugs may require concomitant diuretic therapy, whereas concomitant sympatholytic therapy may be required with the potent vasodilator pinacidil. Captopril may be associated with the lowest cardiac risk because of its lack of stimulatory effects on the sympathetic nervous system and cardiac index.
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PMID:Chronic effects of direct vasodilation (pinacidil), alpha-adrenergic blockade (prazosin) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition (captopril) in systemic hypertension. 288 2

Forty-three patients with mild essential hypertension were randomized into two double-blind studies: pinacidil vs. placebo or pinacidil vs. hydralazine. Pinacidil (62 +/- 18 mg/day) decreased office systolic and diastolic blood pressures from 145 to 137 mm Hg and from 98 to 89 mm Hg, respectively, after 6 weeks of therapy. Similarly, hydralazine (128 +/- 28 mg/day) reduced supine systolic blood pressure from 140 to 134 mm Hg and supine diastolic blood pressure from 93 mm Hg to 84 mm Hg. Significant tachycardia was not noted with either drug. Ambulatory blood pressure was monitored for 24 h during the placebo-washout and efficacy phases with both pinacidil and hydralazine. Mean 24-h blood pressure was 128 systolic and 81 diastolic with pinacidil and 121 systolic and 76 diastolic with hydralazine. Reduction in awake hypertensive diastolic blood pressure was significant for both pinacidil and hydralazine. Normal sleep diastolic blood pressure was not reduced by pinacidil but was reduced by hydralazine. Side-effects with both drugs included edema, headache, and palpitations. These data demonstrate that pinacidil is as effective an antihypertensive agent as hydralazine.
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PMID:Antihypertensive efficacy of pinacidil--automatic ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. 380 13

Pinacidil, a new cyanoguanidine derivative, is an antihypertensive agent with arteriolar vasodilating properties, which acts on precapillary resistance vessels. A trial was carried out in 30 patients with essential hypertension WHO I-II. The treatment period was divided into three phases. Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and amiloride were administered for 4 weeks in Phase 1 and supine and standing blood pressure decreased significantly. During Phase 2 pinacidil was added to HCTZ/amiloride for the following 3 months. A further significant reduction in blood pressure was obtained. In the next period of treatment (Phase 3) patients were divided into two groups. For 1 month Group A (15 patients) received pinacidil alone and Group B (15 patients) received HCTZ/amiloride. Conventional laboratory blood tests in all patients remained unchanged during treatment. Reported side effects during Phase 2 were headache (2 patients), dizziness (3 patients), palpitations (2 patients) and ankle oedema (2 patients). Plasma renin activity was slightly increased at the end both of Phases 1 and 2. Plasma catecholamines were increased but not significantly at the end of Phase 2 as compared to Phase 1. The results indicate that pinacidil is effective in lowering blood pressure in mild to moderate essential hypertension.
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PMID:Effect of pinacidil on blood pressure, plasma catecholamines and plasma renin activity in essential hypertension. 389 69

Twenty three patients with essential hypertension who were uncontrolled on diuretic and/or beta-receptor antagonist therapy were treated additionally with the vasodilator, pinacidil, in an open study. Significant reduction in mean blood pressure was achieved. Supine and erect systolic and diastolic blood pressure fell by 44/25 mmHg and 37/24 mmHg respectively over the study period of 12 weeks. Side-effects such as dizziness, headache, facial flushing and mild oedema were experienced by 10 patients during the study, all of which were mild and transient and did not require withdrawal from pinacidil therapy. Pinacidil is an effective and well tolerated agent in the treatment of essential hypertension.
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PMID:Pinacidil, a new vasodilator, in the treatment of mild to moderate essential hypertension. 400 40

In an open study increasing doses of a retarded tablet formulation of pinacidil were given twice daily for four weeks to 9 patients with untreated essential hypertension (WHO I-II). In all patients a decrease in diastolic blood pressure to below 100 mmHg, or a fall exceeding 15 mmHg, was obtained 2 h after tablet intake (p less than 0.02), but in only two patients was the effect maintained after 10 hours (n.s.). At a mean serum concentration of 100 ng/ml 2 h after pinacidil 30 mg, the mean blood pressure had decreased by 14 and 12.7 mmHg in the supine and erect positions, respectively (p less than 0.05). In contrast, mean blood pressure 10 h after the same dose was unchanged, when the mean serum concentration was 47.5 ng/ml. No change in heart rate was observed. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic investigations showed a tendency towards a more gradual and longer lasting antihypertensive effect and serum concentration-time curve after the retarded tablet than the previous tablet. Pinacidil 40 mg in the retarded tablet reduced mean blood pressure and increased heart rate for at least 8 h. There was a linear correlation between the serum concentration and the change in mean blood pressure, and between the changes in mean blood pressure and in heart rate. There was no indication of tachyphylaxis. A serum level of 50 ng/ml of pinacidil appeared to be the minimal effective concentration. The side effect consisted of fluid retention, and the body weight increased by 1.0 kg (p less than 0.05); four patients complained of oedema.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Pinacidil, a new vasodilator: pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a new retarded release tablet in essential hypertension. 665 52

The effect of a potassium (K+) channel opener (pinacidil) on serum insulin levels and blood glucose levels was investigated in normal volunteers during glucose loading. An intravenous glucose load was used with and without oral pretreatment: pinacidil (25 mg) 11 hours and 1 hour before the 25-g glucose loading. Serum insulin, C-peptide, blood glucose, and plasma catecholamines were measured between t = 0 and t = 180 minutes. Pinacidil led to significantly lower insulin levels, especially in the first phase. Serum C-peptide levels were not significantly lowered, and glucose levels were not changed. Pinacidil inhibits the first phase of insulin release after glucose administration in healthy volunteers. These findings suggest that the safety of the drug regarding glucose tolerance, should be tested separately in patients with diabetes mellitus and essential hypertension.
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PMID:Potassium channel modulation: effect of pinacidil on insulin release in healthy volunteers. 760 19