title: Comparison of nisoldipine and atenolol in the treatment of essential hypertension.
abstract: The antihypertensive effects of nisoldipine, a calcium channel blocker, and atenolol, a beta-adrenergic blocker, were compared in patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension. Both drugs produced significant reductions in blood pressure from the 8th week through the end of the 12-week treatment period. The hear rate decreased significantly in the atenolol group but not in the nisoldipine group. Following oral administration of 50 mg of captopril, the rise in plasma renin activity was significantly smaller in both treatment groups than in normotensive controls. The magnitude of the pressor response during a hand-grip test tended to be smaller in both groups of patients than in the controls, with no significant difference between the treated groups. Although the plasma catecholamine concentration rose significantly in the control and nisoldipine groups, there were no significant intergroup differences in these parameters. The hemoglobin, GOT, creatinine, total cholesterol and serum sodium and potassium concentrations all decreased significantly in the nisoldipine group, although the values remained within normal limits. These results indicate that both nisoldipine and atenolol significantly suppress both plasma renin activity and the pressor response to stress leading to reduction of blood pressure.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okabayashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001262:Atenolol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002216:Captopril; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015737:Nisoldipine; D011897:Random Allocation; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015737:Nisoldipine; D001262:Atenolol; D002216:Captopril; D012083:Renin; D009543:Nifedipine