Circulating endothelin-1 levels in lean non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Influence of ACE inhibition

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Endothelin-1 in this randomized controlled trial publication.

To evaluate the effect of captopril on plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels and insulin sensitivity, 15 lean normotensive men (51.6 +/- 3.8 years) affected by non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) underwent 2-h euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp.

Why It Was Studied

At baseline, plasma ET-1 levels were 0.77 +/- 0.25 pg/mL in captopril (n = 10) and 0.83 +/- 0.3 pg/mL in placebo patients (n = 5).

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 15 men taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults, men only.

How the Study Was Run

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

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Endothelin-1 and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the men nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Endothelin-1, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Endothelin-1 group a baseline to be compared against.

What Was Measured

At baseline, plasma ET-1 levels were 0.77 +/- 0.25 pg/mL in captopril (n = 10) and 0.83 +/- 0.3 pg/mL in placebo patients (n = 5).

The subject headings attached to it are Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure, Captopril, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Endothelins, Insulin and Sensitivity and Specificity.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Endothelin-1 in 15 men.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 1995 (American journal of hypertension), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Endothelin-1 compound page, all human trials.