ANTIHYPERTENSIVE AND METABOLIC EFFECTS OF LACIDIPINE IN PATIENTS WITHNIDDM AND OR HYPERTENSION/

Diabetes mellitus is often associated with hypertension and is an addi tional cardiovascular risk factor. It is therefore important that anti hypertensive drugs should have no negative metabolic effects. We prese nt here the results of two distinct studies investigating the clinical efficacy and the metabolic effects of lacidipine in hypertensive pati ents without concomitant diabetes. Patients in the first study (group A) were hypertensive with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NID DM) and stable blood glucose levels in the 3 months before entering th e study. Patients in the second study (group B) were hypertensive with out diabetes mellitus. Before the commencement of the study, antihyper tensive treatment was discontinued in all patients for a 4-week washou t period, followed by 4 weeks of run-in with placebo. Patients were th en treated with lacidipine (4 mg o.d.) for 6 months, After 1-2 months, the dose was doubled in patients with uncontrolled brood pressure. Ev ery 2 months, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism were investigated by b lood chemistry analyses. The results demonstrate that lacidipine 4-8 m g o.d. is efficacious and well tolerated in hypertensive patients, eve n in the presence of diabetes mellitus.