Active clinical trials for "Hypertension"

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system has been implicated in the control of structural changes of the heart and the vasculature, beyond the effects on blood pressure. This projects examines the importance of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and the sympathetic nervous system in the control of cardiac and vascular structure and function in subjects with hypertension.Patients with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy were randomized to an angiotensin receptor blocker or a beta adrenergic receptor blocker for 48 weeks. Repeat investigations of blood pressure, structure and function of the heart and the vascular tree, and neurohormones were performed. Two control groups, consisting of normotensive subjects and of hypertensive subjects with no cardiac hypertrophy were also examined for comparison.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), also called pseudotumor cerebri, is a disorder of elevated intracranial pressure of unknown cause [Corbett, et al., 1982; Wall, et al., 1991]. Its incidence is 22.5 new cases each year per 100,000 overweight women of childbearing age, and is rising [Garrett, et al., 2004] in parallel with the obesity epidemic. It affects about 100,000 Americans. Most patients suffer debilitating headaches. Because of pressure on the optic nerve (papilledema), 86% have some degree of permanent visual loss and 10% develop severe visual loss [Wall, et al., 1991]. Interventions to prevent loss of sight, all with unproven efficacy, include diet, diuretics such as acetazolamide, repeated spinal taps, optic nerve sheath fenestration surgery, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting procedures. The purported goal of these therapies is to lower intracranial pressure; however, it is unclear which treatments work and by what mechanism. None of these strategies has been verified by properly designed clinical trials. Thus, there is confusion, uncertainty, and weak scientific rationales to guide treatment decisions. This trial will study subjects who have mild visual loss from IIH to (1) establish convincing, evidence-based treatment strategies for IIH to restore and protect vision, (2) follow subjects up to 4 years to observe the long-term treatment outcomes and (3) determine the cause of IIH. To meet those aims, the trial will be divided into a 12-month intervention phase and a 3-year observational phase. Subjects are not required to complete the observational phase of the study, but will be asked to do so and consented for the observational phase of the study at the conclusion of the intervention phase (12 months).

The purpose of this study is to estimate the effect of spironolactone on blood pressure resistant to therapy in type-2 diabetics.

To compare intraocular pressure lowering effectiveness of a new fixed combination drug.

Diastolic dysfunction (DD) is an increasingly frequent condition in hypertensive individuals whose treatment remains unclear. Its presence is related to higher morbidity and mortality independent of blood pressure levels. The aim of this study is to investigate the additive effect of simvastatin on enalapril on DD in hypertensive patients with average cholesterol levels. For this aim, hypertensive patients with DD and LDL-cholesterol <160 mg/dL will undergo a run-in phase to achieve a systolic blood pressure (SBP) <135 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) <85 mmHg with enalapril. Hydrochlorothiazide could be added when need to achieve SBP or DBP control. Four weeks after reaching the optimum anti-hypertensive regimen patients will be randomized to receive 80 mg simvastatin or placebo for a period of 20 weeks. Echocardiograms will be performed before and after treatment with measurement of left atrial volume, conventional and tissue Doppler velocities in early diastole and late diastole. The evaluation of these will allow to identify changes of DD severity after treatment.

The purpose of the study was to assess efficacy and safety of fixed dose combination of 5 mg amlodipine/80 mg valsartan compared to 160 mg valsartan monotherapy in lowering blood pressure in Taiwanese patients.

This study will compare the antihypertensive efficacy and safety of a valsartan/amlodipine-based treatment with a losartan-based treatment in patients with Stage 2 systolic hypertension (high blood pressure, mean systolic blood pressure greater than 160 and less than 200 mmHg).

Exercise-induced increase of the pulmonary arterial pressure may be an early sign of pulmonary arterial hypertension. It has been shown that patients with normal pulmonary arterial pressure at rest but elevated pulmonary arterial pressure during exercise have a decreased exercise-capacity and may have a worse prognosis compared to patients with normal pulmonary arterial pressure values at rest and during exercise. According to the currently used definition pulmonary hypertension can be diagnosed if the mean pulmonary arterial pressure is higher than 25mmHg at rest or 30mmHg during exercise. In this study patients with a risk for pulmonary arterial hypertension (connective tissue disease) and increased pulmonary arterial pressure values during exercise are receiving a therapy with a dual endothelin receptor antagonist - bosentan, a therapy established for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The therapy effect is than compared to the recorded changes before the introduction of this therapy.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most important complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and the most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Diabetic nephropathy is a clinical syndrome characterized by persistent albuminuria (> 300 mg/d or > 200 mcg/min) that is confirmed on at least 2 occasions 3 to 6 months apart, a relentless decline in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and elevated arterial blood pressure. In addition to the renal hemodynamic alterations, patients with overt diabetic nephropathy (dipstick-positive proteinuria and decreasing GFR) generally develop systemic hypertension. Hypertension is an adverse factor in all progressive renal diseases and seems especially so in diabetic nephropathy. The deleterious effects of hypertension are likely directed at the vasculature and microvasculature. Use of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and/or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), strict glycemic control and use of antilipidemic drugs may improve progression of DN. TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK, TNFSF12) is a member of the TNF superfamily of structurally related cytokines. The human TWEAK gene encodes a 249-amino acid type II transmembrane glycoprotein (30 kD). TWEAK may be expressed as a full-length, membrane-bound protein and as a 156-amino acid, 18-kD soluble protein, (sTWEAK) that results from proteolysis of TWEAK. TWEAK gene is expressed in many tissues, including brain, kidney, heart, arterial wall, monocytes and macrophages. Reduced soluble TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) plasma levels have been reported both in patients with subclinical atherosclerosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a multimeric inflammatory mediator. Increased serum PTX3 levels have been reported among end-stage renal disease patients. Moreover, PTX3 has been suggested to represent a novel mortality risk factor, and elevated PTX3 levels have been shown to accompany increased albuminuria among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). There is no data about the effects of Renin angiotensin system blockage (RAS), calcium channel blocker and combined drugs on TWEAK and PTX3 levels in diabetic proteinuric patients with hypertension. The aim of this study was to find out whether the beneficial effects of RAS blockage, calcium channel blocker and combined drugs in diabetic hypertensive proteinuric patients has any relation with the alteration of TWEAK and PTX3 levels. The investigators searched for the effects of angiotensin II (AII) receptor blocker (Valsartan 160 mg), calcium channel blocker (Amlodipine 10 mg) and AII receptor blocker plus calcium channel blocker (Valsartan 160 mg + Amlodipine 10 mg) on the clinical and laboratory parameters of diabetic hypertensive proteinuric patients.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the antihypertensive efficacy and safety of Fimasartan (BR-A-657•K) 60 mg~120 mg in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension.