title: Effects of a new hormone therapy, drospirenone and 17-beta-estradiol, in postmenopausal women with hypertension.
abstract: Drospirenone (DRSP), a progestin with antialdosterone activity, has been developed for hormone therapy in combination with 17-beta-estradiol (E2) in postmenopausal women. We evaluated the antihypertensive efficacy and safety of various doses of DRSP and E2 and estradiol alone in postmenopausal women with hypertension using ambulatory and clinic blood pressure (BP) monitoring. This was a randomized, double-blind clinical trial of 3 doses of DRSP combined with estradiol, estradiol alone, and placebo in 750 postmenopausal women with stage 1 to 2 hypertension between 45 to 75 years. Ambulatory and clinic BPs, potassium, aldosterone, and lipid measurements and adverse events were evaluated in postmenopausal women with stages 1 to 2 hypertension during 8 weeks of double-blind therapy. DRSP and E2 induced dose-related reductions in the ambulatory and clinic systolic BP with physiological increases in serum aldosterone. Significant decreases in 24-hour systolic pressure were observed at doses of 2 and 3 mg of DRSP combined with estradiol but not by estradiol alone or 1 mg of DRSP with estradiol. There were no significant changes from baseline in potassium in any treatment group. Small, significant reductions in total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol occurred on all of the active treatments, and serum triglycerides did not change. Adverse event rates were low and similar across treatment groups. In conclusion, these data show that DRSP combined with E2 significantly reduces BP in postmenopausal women with hypertension and did not induce significant increases in serum potassium. These characteristics may lead to a new benefit for this novel hormone therapy in postmenopausal women with hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, The Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT 06030-3940, USA. wwhite@nso1.uchc.edu
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hanes
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chauhan
authors.forename: Bertram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pitt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000097:blood; D000736:Androstenes / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004958:Estradiol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D011188:Potassium / Q000097:blood; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000736:Androstenes; D000450:Aldosterone; D004958:Estradiol; D002784:Cholesterol; C035144:drospirenone; D011188:Potassium