A review of chemical therapies for treating diabetic hypertension

The Impact of Different Antihypertensive Drugs on Cardiovascular Risk in Isolated Systolic Hypertension with Type 2 Diabetes Patients

BACKGROUNDS

Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), calcium channel blocker (CCB) and thiazide diuretics (TD) are common antihypertensive drugs for diabetes patients with hypertension. The purpose of this study was to compare the cardiovascular risks of these drugs in patients with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS

We used Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes trial data to explore the relationship between antihypertensive drugs and cardiovascular risks in ISH with T2DM patients by performing propensity score matching, Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and Cox proportional regression.

RESULTS

The cumulative incidence rates of primary outcomes (PO, including cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction and non-fatal stroke) in the ARB use group were significantly lower than those without (hazard ratio (HR) 0.53; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34-0.83; p = 0.006). However, for ACEI, CCB and TD, they were negligible (ACEI: p = 0.209; CCB: p = 0.245; TD: p = 0.438). ARB decreased cardiovascular mortality (CM) in PO rather than non-fatal myocardial infarction (NMI) and non-fatal stroke (NST) (CM: HR 0.32; 95%CI 0.18-0.90; p = 0.004; NMI: p = 0.692; NST: p = 0.933).

CONCLUSION

ARB may alleviate the cardiovascular risks in ISH with T2DM patients, but ACEI, CCB, and TD did not.

Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists for cardioprotection in chronic kidney disease: a step into the future

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) share major risk factors and mechanistic pathways for progression. Furthermore, either decreased glomerular filtration rate or increased albuminuria are major risk factors for cardiovascular events. Evidence from previous renal outcome trials in patients with proteinuric CKD showed that angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs) effectively slow CKD progression, establishing these agents as fundamental CKD pharmacologic treatments. However, in all these trials and subsequent meta-analyses, ACEIs and ARBs did not significantly reduce cardiovascular events or mortality, indicating a high residual risk for CVD progression in individuals with CKD. In contrast to the above, several outcome trials with old and novel mineralocorticoid receptor-antagonists (MRAs) clearly suggest that these agents, apart from nephroprotection, offer important cardioprotection in this population. This article is an overview of previous and recent evidence on the effects of MRAs on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with CKD attempting to highlight a pathway able to improve both cardiovascular and renal prognosis in this population.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors from plants: A review of their diversity, modes of action, prospects, and concerns in the management of diabetes-centric complications

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are antihypertensive medications often used in the treatment of diabetes-related complications. Synthetic ACE inhibitors are known to cause serious side effects like hypotension, renal insufficiency, and hyperkalaemia. Therefore, there has been an intensifying search for natural ACE inhibitors. Many plants or plant-based extracts are known to possess ACE-inhibitory activity. In this review, articles focusing on the natural ACE inhibitors extracted from plants were retrieved from databases like Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. We have found more than 50 plant species with ACE-inhibitory activity. Among them, Angelica keiskei, Momordica charantia, Muntingia calabura, Prunus domestica, and Peperomia pellucida were the most potent, showing comparatively lower half-maximal inhibitory concentration values. Among the bioactive metabolites, peptides (e.g., Tyr-Glu-Pro, Met-Arg-Trp, and Gln-Phe-Tyr-Ala-Val), phenolics (e.g., cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside and delphinidin-3-O-sambubioside), flavonoids ([-]-epicatechin, astilbin, and eupatorin), terpenoids (ursolic acid and oleanolic acid) and alkaloids (berberine and harmaline) isolated from several plant and fungus species were found to possess significant ACE-inhibitory activity. These were also known to possess promising antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic and anti-inflammatory activities. Considering the minimal side effects and lower toxicity of herbal compounds, development of antihypertensive drugs from these plant extracts or phytocompounds for the treatment of diabetes-associated complications is an important endeavour. This review, therefore, focuses on the ACE inhibitors extracted from different plant sources, their possible mechanisms of action, present status, and any safety concerns.

SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists for nephroprotection and cardioprotection in patients with diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease. A consensus statement by the EURECA-m and the DIABESITY working groups of the ERA-EDTA

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major problem of public health. Currently, many of these patients experience progression of cardiovascular and renal disease, even when receiving optimal treatment. In previous years, several new drug classes for the treatment of type 2 DM have emerged, including inhibitors of renal sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. Apart from reducing glycaemia, these classes were reported to have other beneficial effects for the cardiovascular and renal systems, such as weight loss and blood pressure reduction. Most importantly, in contrast to all previous studies with anti-diabetic agents, a series of recent randomized, placebo-controlled outcome trials showed that SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists are able to reduce cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, as well as progression of renal disease, in patients with type 2 DM. This document presents in detail the available evidence on the cardioprotective and nephroprotective effects of SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 analogues, analyses the potential mechanisms involved in these actions and discusses their place in the treatment of patients with CKD and DM.

Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists for Nephroprotection: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives

BACKGROUND

The use of single RAS-blockade is currently the recommended first-line treatment for proteinuric diabetic or non-diabetic nephropathy, as these agents were repeatedly shown in studies with hard renal outcomes to retard the progression of renal injury. However, CKD will continue to progress on optimum single RAS-blockade, and other options to ameliorate renal injury were explored. Dual RAS-blockade was associated with an increased risk of adverse-events with no apparent benefits and, therefore, is currently abandoned. Based on the phenomenon of aldosterone escape and the well-documented harmful effects of aldosterone on renal tissue, several randomized trials have studied the effects of a MRA in diabetic and non-diabetic nephropathy.

METHOD

This is a review of the literature in relevance to data evaluating the effect of MRA on renal outcomes.

RESULTS

Studies with spironolactone and eplerenone added to single RAS-blockade showed that these agents are associated with greater reductions in urine albumin or protein excretion compared to either placebo or dual RASblockade. However, studies with these agents on hard renal outcomes are currently missing and the reasonable skepticism of physicians on the real-world incidence of hyperkalemia in CKD patients are limiting their use. A non-steroidal MRA, finerenone, has also great potency in decreasing albuminuria in diabetic nephropathy with possibly lower rates of hyperkalemia. Two multi-center clinical trials examining the effect of finerenone on hard cardiovascular and renal outcomes are currently ongoing.

CONCLUSION

MRAs are able to reduce albuminuria and proteinuria on top of single RAS-blockade in patients with proteinuric CKD. Ongoing clinical trials are expected to clarify whether such an effect is accompanied by delay in CKD progression.