Use of the endothelin pathway in the treatment of hypertension

10.11.2022

Prof. Krzysztof Narkiewicz, photo Paweł Sudara/MUG

An international team of researchers including Prof. Krzysztof Narkiewicz, Head of the Department of Hypertension & Diabetology at the MUG, has published in the journal The Lancet (IF=202.731) the results of the world’s first study evaluating the usefulness of a dual endothelin antagonist in the treatment of resistant hypertension.

The article, titled Dual endothelin antagonist aprocitentan for resistant hypertension (PRECISION): a multicentre, blinded, randomized, parallel-group, phase 3 trial, responds to the current lack of research on the use of contemporary drugs to treat hypertension using the endothelin pathway. In their study, researchers monitored the ability of aprocitentan, a dual endothelin antagonist, to lower blood pressure in patients with resistant hypertension. The multicenter, blinded, randomized, parallel-group phase 3 study was conducted between 2018 and 2022 at hospitals in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia involving 1,965 patients, 730 of whom were enrolled in the project. One of the nearly 200 centers involved was the Department of Hypertension and Diabetology at the UCC, a teaching hospital of the MUG led by Prof. Krzysztof Narkiewicz.

The results obtained by the researchers indicated a stronger blood pressure-lowering effect of the test substance compared to the placebo after 4 weeks of therapy. After 40 weeks of aprocitentan administration, the therapeutic effect became permanent.

The article is available in digital form on the website of the journal The Lancet.