Increase in plasma aldosterone during prolonged captopril treatment.
Plasma aldosterone concentration was measured in seven patients before and during long-term angiotensin II suppression with captopril. Plasma aldosterone decreased initially from 62 to 9 pg/ml (p less than 0.01) after 1 month of captopril administration. Thereafter, it began to increase and after 1 year reached a level of 163 pg/ml, which significantly (p less than 0.01) exceeded the pretreatment value. During long-term captopril therapy, plasma renin activity remained elevated and plasma angiotensin II concentration suppressed. The mechanism responsible for the late increase in plasma aldosterone during long-term angiotensin II suppression with captopril remains to be elucidated. Body weight decreased initially, parallel to plasma aldosterone increase, but after 6 months increased again to reach its pretreatment level after 1 year. Nevertheless a sizable and lasting hypotensive effect was observed in all patients.
D000328:Adult; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000097:blood*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002216:Captopril / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006977:Hypertension, Renal / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006978:Hypertension, Renovascular / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011188:Potassium / Q000097:blood; D011392:Proline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
D000450:Aldosterone; D011392:Proline; D002216:Captopril; D011188:Potassium