B. Persson et M. Stimpel, EVALUATION OF THE ANTIHYPERTENSIVE EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF MOEXIPRIL, A NEW ACE-INHIBITOR, COMPARED TO HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE IN ELDERLY PATIENTS, European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 50(4), 1996, pp. 259-264
Objective: To compare the antihypertensive efficacy of moexipril, a ne
w angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, to treatment with hyd
rochlorothiazide (HCTZ). Patients: Two hundred and one non-hospitalize
d male and female patients between 65 and 80 years of age with essenti
al hypertension. Methods: This was a multicentre, placebo-controlled,
double-blind study with a parallel group design. Subjects with a sitti
ng diastolic blood pressure (DBP) greater than or equal to 95 mmHg wer
e randomized to monotherapy with placebo, moexipril 7.5 mg o.d., moexi
pril 15 mg o.d. or HCTZ 25 mg o.d. for 8 weeks. Results: Throughout th
e study period treatment with moexipril and HCTZ resulted in significa
nt reductions of DBP compared with placebo, but there were no signific
ant differences between the active treatment groups. At end point the
adjusted mean reductions were 10.5, 8.7 and 10.1 mmHg in the HCTZ, moe
xipril 7.5 mg and moexipril 15 mg groups, respectively, compared to 3.
9 mmHg in the placebo group. Treatment with moexipril was associated w
ith two cases of first dose hypotension and two cases of moderate and
reversible increases in serum creatinine levels. Otherwise, both dosag
es of moexipril were well tolerated and the overall percentages of pat
ients who had adverse experiences were smaller than in the placebo gro
up. Conclusion: Moexipril is well tolerated and is at least as effecti
ve as HCTZ in elderly patients with essential hypertension.