title: The development of the direct renin inhibitor aliskiren: treating hypertension and beyond.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Direct renin inhibitors such as aliskiren offer a novel way of treating hypertension and its co-morbidities, conditions with a considerable prevalence, morbidity, and mortality worldwide.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The burden of hypertension worldwide and the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in this disease will be reviewed. Current treatments for hypertension and its co-morbidities that work by manipulating this system will be discussed. The development of, and clinical trials involving, direct renin inhibitors will be reviewed, with a focus on aliskiren.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed was utilized to search the most recent literature on the topics of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, aldosterone and aliskiren.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The direct renin inhibitors, including aliskiren, are new agents with great promise for the treatment of hypertension and its co-morbid conditions, including renal and cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. hms7a@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Helmy
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Siragy
authors.forename: Jiqian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Lieb