A trial of metoprolol in hypertensive insulin-dependent diabetic patients

Metoprolol-controlled release, zero order kinetics

Metoprolol CR/ZOK (controlled release, zero order kinetics) is a new formulation of an extensively used beta 1-selective, beta-adrenoceptor blocking drug, (beta 1-blocker), designed to provide continuous, even, plasma concentrations in the therapeutic range. It should, therefore, provide an effective well-tolerated treatment for hypertension and angina pectoris and for use in secondary prevention following a myocardial infarct. The purpose of this review is to consider the need for such a formulation, to describe its pharmaceutical development, review its pharmacology and assess its efficacy and tolerability compared with other available agents.

Antihypertensive treatment: long-term reversal of progression of albuminuria in incipient diabetic nephropathy. A longitudinal study of renal function

This study was undertaken to clarify whether antihypertensive treatment has any effect on the rate of progression of kidney disease in patients with incipient diabetic nephropathy. Six insulin-dependent diabetic men with incipient nephropathy (urinary albumin excretion above 15 micrograms/min and total protein excretion below 0.5 g/24 h) were first given metoprolol (200 mg daily) with the subsequent addition of hydroflumethiazide. At the start of antihypertensive treatment, mean patient age was 32 +/- 4.2 years (SD) and mean duration of diabetes was 18 +/- 1.2 years. The patients were followed with repeated measurements of urinary albumin excretion for a mean of 5.4 +/- 3.1 years prior to, and for 4.7 +/- 1.3 years (SD) during treatment. Mean arterial blood pressure declined significantly during treatment, e.g., the values at 6 months before initiation of treatment being compared with values during the last 6 months of treatment fell from 107 mmHg +/- 7.6 to 93 +/- 3.8 (2p = 1.5%). Albumin excretion decreased from 131.0 micrograms/min X/divided by 2.9 (geometric mean X/divided by tolerance factor) to 41.7 micrograms/min X/divided by 2.9 (2p = 1.2%). Albumin clearance in per cent of glomerular filtration rate decreased from a mean of 0.0030 +/- 0.0019% (SD) to 0.0011 +/- 0.0010% (2p = 4.6%). The mean yearly increase in urinary albumin excretion before treatment was 18.0 +/- 17.0% (mean +/- SD); during treatment urinary albumin excretion decreased 19 +/- 10% per year (2p = 0.7%). No changes were seen in renal plasma flow (516 +/- 31.0 ml/min to 520 +/- 66 ml/min (n = 5)).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acute and long-term effect of antihypertensive treatment on exercise-induced albuminuria in incipient diabetic nephropathy

The aim of the study was to clarify whether antihypertensive treatment could affect the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and urinary albumin excretion (UAE) in diabetics during exercise (450 kpm/min, followed by 600 kpm/min, 20 min each). Young male insulin-dependent diabetics with normal UAE (n = 9) and diabetics with incipient nephropathy (n = 7) were examined in an acute study. Five patients with incipient diabetic nephropathy participated in a long-term study. Incipient diabetic nephropathy is defined as persistently elevated UAE (greater than 15 micrograms/min), but no clinical proteinuria. In the acute study, using placebo/metoprolol 10 mg i.v. in patients with normal UAE, the maximal SBP at 600 kpm/min was reduced by 17 mmHg +/- 10 (SD) (2p less than 1.0%) and the maximal SBP at 600 kpm/min in the patients with incipient nephropathy was reduced by 15 mmHg +/- 11 (SD) (2p less than 1.0%). However, no difference was observed in UAE, in patients with normal UAE or those with incipient nephropathy. Five of the patients with incipient nephropathy were followed with repeated exercise tests before and during 2.6 years of antihypertensive treatment, using metoprolol 200 mg/24 h and subsequently also hydroflumethiazid 25 mg/24 h. The maximal SBP at 600 kpm/min at the end of the study compared to the pretreatment level was reduced by 38 mmHg +/- 12 (SD) (2p less than 1.0%), and furthermore the exercise-induced elevated UAE was reduced by 61% +/- 29 (SD) (2p = 2.0%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Metoprolol. An updated review of its pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, and therapeutic efficacy, in hypertension, ischaemic heart disease and related cardiovascular disorders

During the intervening years since metoprolol was first reviewed in the Journal (1977), it has become widely used in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension and angina pectoris. Although much data have accumulated, its precise mechanisms of action in these diseases remain largely uncertain. Optimum treatment of hypertension and angina pectoris with metoprolol is achieved through dose titration within the therapeutic range. It has been clearly demonstrated that metoprolol is at least as effective as other beta-blockers, diuretics and certain calcium antagonists in the majority of patients. Although a twice daily dosage regimen is normally used, satisfactory control can be maintained in many patients with single daily doses of conventional or, more frequently, slow release formulations. Addition of a diuretic may improve the overall response rate in hypertension. Several controlled trials have studied the effects of metoprolol administered during the acute phase and after myocardial infarction. In early intervention trials a reduction in total mortality was achieved in one moderately large trial of prolonged treatment, but in another, which excluded patients already being treated with beta-blockers or certain calcium antagonists and where treatment was only short term, mortality was significantly reduced only in 'high risk' patients. Overall results with metoprolol have not demonstrated that early intervention treatment in all patients produces clinically important improvement in short term mortality. Thus, the use of metoprolol during the early stages of myocardial infarction is controversial, largely because of the requirement to treat all patients to save a small number at 'high risk'. This blanket coverage approach to treatment may be more justified during the post-infarction follow-up phase since it has been shown that metoprolol slightly, but significantly, reduces the mortality rate for periods of up to 3 years. Metoprolol is generally well tolerated and its beta 1-selectivity may facilitate its administration to certain patients (e.g. asthmatics and diabetics) in whom non-selective beta-blockers are contraindicated. Temporary fatigue, dizziness and headache are among the most frequently reported side effects. After a decade of use, metoprolol is well established as a first choice drug in mild to moderate hypertension and stable angina, and is beneficial in post-infarction patients. Further study is needed in less well established areas of treatment such as cardiac arrhythmias, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and hypertensive cardiomegaly.

Early aggressive antihypertensive treatment reduces rate of decline in kidney function in diabetic nephropathy

The effect of early aggressive antihypertensive treatment on kidney function in diabetic nephropathy was studied prospectively in ten insulin-dependent diabetics (mean age 29 years). During the mean pretreatment period of 29 (range 23-38) months the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) decreased significantly and the urinary albumin excretion rate and arterial blood pressure rose significantly. During the 39 month (range 28-48) period of antihypertensive treatment with metoprolol, hydralazine, and frusemide (furosemide) or thiazide, arterial blood pressure fell from 144/97 mm Hg (mean of all pretreatment values) to 128/84 mm Hg (mean of all post-treatment values), urinary albumin excretion from 977 micrograms/min to 433 micrograms/min, and GFR from 80 to 62 ml/min/1 . 73 m2. The rate of decline in GFR decreased from 0.91 ml/min/month before treatment to 0.39 ml/min/month (range 0.08 to 0.68 ml/min/month) during treatment.

Long-term antihypertensive treatment inhibiting progression of diabetic nephropathy

Six men aged 26-35 years with proteinuria due to insulindependent juvenile-onset diabetes were treated for moderate hypertension (mean blood pressure 162/103 mm Hg) and studied for a mean of 73 months for the effect on the progression of nephropathy. All patients were of normal weight. During a mean control period of 28 months before treatment the mean glomerular filtration rate (three or four measurements) was 86.1 ml/min and mean 24-hour urinary albumin excretion (also three or four measurements) 3.9 g (range 0.5-8.8 g).During antihypertensive treatment the mean systolic blood pressure fell to 144 mm Hg and mean diastolic pressure to 95 mm Hg. In the control period five patients had shown a mean monthly decline in glomerular filtration rate of 1.23 ml/min; with antihypertensive treatment, however, this decline fell to 0.49 ml/min (2p=0.042). In the remaining patient the glomerular filtration rate was 137 ml/min before treatment and 135 ml/min at the end of the treatment period. In all patients the mean yearly increase in albumin clearance (expressed as a percentage of the glomerular filtration rate) fell from 107% before treatment to 5% during treatment (2p=0.0099).This small study indicates that antihypertensive treatment slows the decline in renal function in diabetic nephropathy. Clinical trials beginning treatment in the incipient phase of diabetic nephropathy will define the optimal modality of treatment in this large patient population.