The New England Journal of Medicine
e-mail icon  FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |    Advanced Search
Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe
 
Original Article
PreviousPrevious
Volume 339:1285-1292 October 29, 1998 Number 18
NextNext

Effect of Bradykinin-Receptor Blockade on the Response to Angiotensin-Converting–Enzyme Inhibitor in Normotensive and Hypertensive Subjects
James V. Gainer, M.D., Jason D. Morrow, M.D., Angela Loveland, Debbie J. King, R.N., and Nancy J. Brown, M.D.

 Sign up for free e-toc
 

This Article
-Full Text
- PDF

Commentary
-Letters

Tools and Services
-Add to Personal Archive
-Add to Citation Manager
-Notify a Friend
-E-mail When Cited

More Information
-PubMed Citation
ABSTRACT

Background Angiotensin-converting–enzyme (ACE) inhibitors not only decrease the production of angiotensin II but also decrease the degradation of bradykinin. In this study, a specific bradykinin-receptor antagonist, icatibant acetate (HOE 140), was used to determine the contribution of bradykinin to the short-term effects of ACE inhibition on blood pressure and plasma renin activity in both normotensive and hypertensive subjects.

Methods We compared the hemodynamic, renal, and endocrine effects of captopril alone (25 mg), captopril plus icatibant (100 µg per kilogram of body weight), the angiotensin II subtype 1–receptor antagonist losartan (75 mg), and placebo in 20 subjects with normal blood pressure and 7 subjects with hypertension. The subjects were studied while they were salt depleted (i.e., in balance on a diet in which they were allowed 10 mmol of sodium per day). The drugs were administered on four separate study days in a single-blind, randomized fashion.

Results The coadministration of icatibant significantly attenuated the hypotensive effect of captopril (maximal decrease in mean [±SE] arterial pressure for all subjects combined, 10.5±1.0 mm Hg, as compared with 14.0±1.0 mm Hg for captopril alone; P=0.001), in such a way that the decrease in blood pressure after the administration of captopril plus icatibant was similar to that after the administration of losartan (maximal decrease in mean arterial pressure, 11.0±1.7 mm Hg). Icatibant did not alter the renal hemodynamic response to captopril, but it significantly altered the change in plasma renin activity in response to ACE inhibition (–0.4±0.4 ng of angiotensin I per milliliter per hour, as compared with 2.0±0.7 ng per milliliter per hour for captopril alone; P=0.007). The magnitude of these effects was similar in both the normotensive and the hypertensive subjects, as well as in both the black subjects and the white subjects.

Conclusions These data confirm that bradykinin contributes to the short-term effects of ACE inhibition on blood pressure in normotensive and hypertensive persons and suggest that bradykinin also contributes to the short-term effects of ACE inhibition on the renin–angiotensin system.


Source Information

From the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Brown at the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, 560 MRB-1, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232-6602.

Full Text of this Article


Related Letters:

Bradykinin and Inhibition of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme in Hypertension
Azizi M., Agarwal R., Gallois H., Piot O., Gainer J. V., Brown N. J.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1999; 340:967-969, Mar 25, 1999. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:



HOME  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  SEARCH  |  CURRENT ISSUE  |  PAST ISSUES  |  COLLECTIONS  |  PRIVACY  |  TERMS OF USE  |  HELP  |  beta.nejm.org

Comments and questions? Please contact us.

The New England Journal of Medicine is owned, published, and copyrighted © 2009 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.