Candoxatril, an orally active neutral endopeptidase inhibitor, raises plasma atrial natriuretic factor and is natriuretic in essential hypertension

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide).

Candoxatril (UK79,300) is an orally available inhibitor of the neutral endopeptidase (E.C.3.4.24.11) which degrades atrial natriuretic factor (ANF).

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, both men and women.

Twelve patients with untreated essential hypertension.

Serial measurements of urinary volume and electrolyte excretion were taken (on each hour, urine volume was replaced with an equivalent volume of water by mouth).

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

As a double-blind ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide) could be set against what happens without it.

Each person switched between ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

The Medical Research Council Blood Pressure Unit, Western Infirmary, Glasgow, UK (a hospital clinical research unit).

Diastolic blood pressure was greater than 95 mmHg on three separate occasions before entry to the study.

Candoxatril or matching placebo was administered orally in the fasting state.

Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded for 12 h after drug administration and serial blood samples were taken for measurement of plasma ANF and neurohormone concentrations.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Analysis of Variance, Antihypertensive Agents, Atrial Natriuretic Factor, Biological Availability, Hypertension, Indans and Natriuresis.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide).

Its findings take up roughly 8 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 1992 (Journal of hypertension), a journal based in Netherlands.

More context: the ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide) compound page, all human trials.