Treatment of resistant hypertension
The experimental drug Baxdrostat effectively reduces blood pressure in patients with resistant arterial hypertension.
These are the results of a Phase II clinical trial conducted jointly by Queen Mary University of London and CinCor Pharma Corporation, USA.
During the 12-week study, 248 patients received either baxdrostat in various doses (2 mg, 1 mg or 0.5 mg once a day) or placebo. All study participants suffered from high blood pressure despite taking three or more anti-hypertension medications. At the end of the follow-up in the group receiving the highest dose of baxdrostat, blood pressure decreased by 20 mmHg. The difference in blood pressure between this group and the placebo group was 11 mmHg.
Baksdrostat blocks the enzyme aldosterone synthase, which is involved in the production of aldosterone by the adrenal glands – a hormone that regulates the amount of salt in the body. Patients with elevated levels of aldosterone in the blood are resistant to treatment with commonly used drugs against hypertension. Aldosterone synthase has been a pharmacological target for the treatment of hypertension for several decades. Selective inhibition of aldosterone synthase is a difficult task, since the synthesis of another hormone, cortisol, is catalyzed by an enzyme that is 93% similar to aldosterone synthase.
Baxdrostat leads to a decrease in the level of aldosterone in the blood and urine. The study showed that the drug causes a noticeable decrease in blood pressure in patients with hypertension resistant to conventional drugs and due to excessive production of aldosterone.
Arterial hypertension is one of the most common diseases among adults in the UK, about a third of residents suffer from it. 5-10% of patients with this disease have a gene mutation in the adrenal glands, which leads to the production of excessive amounts of aldosterone.
The results of the study are published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the scientific conference of the American Heart Association.
Article M.Freeman et al. The Phase 2 Trial of Baxdrostat for Treatment-Resistant Hypertension is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Queen Mary University of London: New drug can successfully treat patients typically resistant to high blood pressure treatment.