title: Action of irbesartan on blood pressure and glucose/lipid metabolism, in hemodialysis patients with hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Irbesartan has been reported to have beneficial effects on glucose/lipid metabolism in addition to an antihypertensive effect; however, such effects have not been clarified in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We investigated the effects of irbesartan on blood pressure (BP) as well as glucose/lipid metabolism, in HD patients with hypertension.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen HD patients with hypertension, aged 62.7 ± 12.5 years, were treated with daily oral administration of 50 to 100 mg of irbesartan for 12 weeks. Then, the changes of BP as well as glucose metabolism (random serum glucose level and serum glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c] level) and lipid metabolism (serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-chol] level, serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-chol] level, and serum triglyceride [TG] level) were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Irbesartan significantly reduced systolic BP (154.9 ± 12.8 to 139.4 ± 13.1 mmHg (P < 0.01) and diastolic BP (78.9 ± 9.1 to 72.2 ± 9.7 mmHg, P < 0.01). It also reduced LDL-chol (77.6 ± 19.1 to 72.0 ± 18.6 mg/dL, P < 0.05), whereas it did not significantly affect random serum glucose (129.3 ± 46.9 mg/dL to 130.6 ± 47.2 mg/dL), HbA1c (5.58% ± 1.41% to 5.49% ± 1.11%), TG (104.3 ± 65.8 mg/dL to 100.2 ± 59.9 mg/dL), or HDL-chol (44.8 ± 17.1 mg/dL to 45.7 ± 15.6 mg/dL).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Irbesartan is effective for BP control and may have beneficial effects on lipid metabolism in HD patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Onishi
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morishita
authors.forename: Minami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.forename: Mikio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tezuka
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: Sadao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsunematsu
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugaya
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kusano
keywords: blood pressure; glucose/lipid metabolism; hemodialysis patients; irbesartan