L-arginine in the management of cardiovascular diseases.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the role of L-arginine in the management of cardiovascular diseases.


METHODS
A MEDLINE search (1966-April 2000) of review articles, using the search terms arginine, nitric oxide, and cardiovascular diseases, was conducted. After reviewing these articles, primary studies using the search terms arginine, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure were reviewed.


METHODS
English-language human studies were selected and evaluated based on quality of review.


RESULTS
Small-scale studies have demonstrated that intravenous L-arginine augments endothelial function by enhancing vasodilation and reducing monocyte adhesion. Oral supplementation demonstrated similar effects as well as improvement of exercise ability in patients with cardiovascular diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
L-arginine improves the management of multiple cardiovascular diseases. However, most published human studies are small. Before therapy can be routinely recommended, larger, well-designed studies are required to confirm its effect.
Cheng
J W
JW
Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 75 DeKalb Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11201-5497, USA. jcheng@liu.edu
Baldwin
S N
SN
Balwin
S N
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D001120:Arginine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D008593:Menopause / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D001120:Arginine