Effects of the recombinant form of the natural human B-type natriuretic peptide and levosimendan on pulmonary hyperventilation and chemosensivity in heart failure

What Was Tested

Researchers studied BNP (Nesiritide) in this randomized controlled trial publication.

The origin of dyspnea in chronic heart failure (HF) is multifactorial, and excessive ventilation is thought to play a role in inducing this symptom.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

The researchers tested in a prospective, placebo-controlled, three-way cross-over, double-blind randomized study the effects of the recombinant form of the natural human B-type natriuretic peptide (R-BNP) in comparison with placebo and levosimendan on chemoreflex sensitivity at rest, as well as their effects on pulmonary VE, systemic blood pressure, heart rate and sympathetic serum activity both at rest and during exercise.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Because people in this BNP (Nesiritide) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind BNP (Nesiritide) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Some participants received a placebo instead of BNP (Nesiritide), giving a reference point.

Each person switched between BNP (Nesiritide) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Brazil, Cardiovascular Agents, Chemoreceptor Cells, Chronic Disease, Heart Failure, Hemodynamics and Hydrazones.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of BNP (Nesiritide).

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2013 (Cardiovascular therapeutics), a journal based in England.

More context: the BNP (Nesiritide) compound page, all human trials.