title: Reduction of age-associated arterial wall changes by low-dose valsartan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Functional and morphological arterial wall impairment progresses with ageing. Angiotensin II in the arterial wall is involved in this process. Appropriate early intervention might theoretically slow the progress of age-related changes. Herein, we investigated a new approach to this issue: whether arterial wall changes present in middle-aged males could be reduced by low-dose valsartan intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty apparently healthy, middle-aged males (42.9 ± 0.9 years) were recruited for a double-blind randomized study and received either placebo or valsartan (20 mg daily) for 30 days. Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), pulse wave velocity (PWV), and β-stiffness of the common carotid artery were measured using an Aloka alfa-10 Prosound with an integrated eTracking system at inclusion, after 30 days, and after 3 and 8 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intervention resulted in FMD increase (154.2 ± 20.1 %; p < 0.001) and PWV and β-stiffness decrease compared to initial values (-6.9 ± 1.0 % and -13.2 ± 1.4 %; both p < 0.01) whereas values in the untreated group (p < 0.001 for all parameters) remained unchanged throughout the study. The advantageous effects decreased over the months following valsartan discontinuation, but were still significant after 3 months (largely in FMD and less in PWV and β-stiffness), and negligible after 8 months. The beneficial effects were ascribed to valsartan's pleiotropic effects, as no blood pressure changes were recorded.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We showed that age-related arterial wall changes in middle-aged males are reversible and could be reduced by a low-dose, short-term valsartan intervention. The new approach merits detailed investigation in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Ljubljana University Medical Centre, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova 2, Ljubljana, Slovenia. mojca.lunder@mf.uni-lj.si
authors.forename: Mojca
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lunder
authors.forename: Miodrag
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janic
authors.forename: Miso
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sabovic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D017524:Slovenia; D013777:Tetrazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014633:Valine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000068756:Valsartan; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000187:drug effects; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers; D013777:Tetrazoles; D000068756:Valsartan; D014633:Valine