BACKGROUND Studies focusing on the add-on effects of angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs) other than their antihypertensive effect are receiving attention. However, the effects of prolonged administration of ARBs on lipid metabolism in clinical cases are unclear. Our aims were to survey the changes in plasma lipid profile in patients with hypertension over a one-year period, and to ex...

OBJECTIVE Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) are both implicated in the development of diabetic retinopathy. How these pathways interact to promote retinal vasculopathy is not fully understood. Glyoxalase-I (GLO-I) is an enzyme critical for the detoxification of AGEs and retinal vascular cell survival. We hypothesized that, in retina, angiotensin II (A...

Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a potent stimulator of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) expression, which is an important regulator of pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Rho-kinase, a downstream target protein of small GTP-binding protein Rho, plays a key role for various cellular functions. We evaluated the cardioprotective effects of a specific Rho-kinase inhibitor, (R)-(+)-trans-N-(4-pyrid...

BACKGROUND Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are reported to provide direct protection to many organs by controlling inflammation and decreasing oxidant stress in patients without arteriosclerosis. This study aimed to evaluate (1) whether an ARB (candesartan) decreases values for inflammatory parameters in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus of long duration accompanied by ar...

The role of angiotensin II and reactive oxygen species in the exacerbation of diastolic heart failure is unknown. We examined the therapeutic effect of angiotensin blockade on hypertensive diastolic heart failure, focusing on the role of xanthine oxidoreductase and reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, major enzymes producing reactive oxygen species. Dahl salt-sensitive h...

BACKGROUND Microalbuminuria in diabetes is strongly predictive of nephropathy, end-stage renal disease, and premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Effective preventive therapies are therefore a clinical priority. OBJECTIVE To determine whether the angiotensin-receptor blocker candesartan compared with placebo affects microalbuminuria incidence or rate of change in albuminuria in ty...

To identify genes influencing blood pressure response to an angiotensin II receptor blocker, single nucleotide polymorphisms identified by genome-wide association analysis of the response to candesartan were validated by opposite direction associations with the response to a thiazide diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide. We sampled 198 white and 193 blacks with primary hypertension from opposite terti...

BACKGROUND Although angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers have emerged as effective antihypertensive agents, it is not known how efficacious these agents are in treating hypertension-associated target organ damage. METHODS AND RESULTS The present study was undertaken to compare the effect of angiotensin type 1 receptor inhibition on the progression of the organ damage observed in 2 models o...

Introduction. Combined drugs have the greatest efficacy and safety in arterial hypertension treatment. The combination of candesartan hydrochlorothiazide (AT1-receptor antagonist a thiazide diuretic, respectively) provides high efficiency antihypertensive therapy, therefore it is widely used medical practice. Developing method for simultaneous determination hydrochlorithiazide human blood plasm...

background: angiotensin ii (ang ii) has an important role on cerebral microcirculation however, its direct roles in terms of ischemic brain edema need to be clarified. this study evaluated the role of central ang ii by using candesartan, as an at1 receptor blocker, in the brain edema formation and blood-brain barrier (bbb) disruption caused by ischemia/reperfusion (i/r) injuries in rat. methods...