Effective Management of Blood Pressure: Promising New Drug Delivers Impressive Outcomes in Hypertension Treatment
Groundbreaking Q&Bp Pill for Unruly High Blood Pressure Shows Promising Results
In a world where hypertension, or high blood pressure, remains a global health issue that significantly heightens the risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes, a new, game-changing treatment option is on the horizon.
A recent, colossal clinical trial - the Phase 3 Launch-HTN study - has revealed that lorundrostat, an aldosterone synthase inhibitor, safely and consistently lowers blood pressure in a large and diverse population of patients who previously hadn't responded to other medications. This marks a monumental advancement in the development of the first targeted aldosterone synthase inhibitor for these conditions.
So, what in the world is hypertension?Blood pressure refers to the force exerted by blood against the walls of the arteries. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, occurs when this force persistently surpasses the normal range.
Resistant hypertension is a challenging form of high blood pressure that remains uncontrolled despite a person taking three different blood pressure medications at their maximum recommended doses.
Interestingly, up to 15% of individuals with hypertension have abnormal regulation of aldosterone, a hormone that helps control blood pressure. Elevated aldosterone levels due to this dysregulation can lead to hypertension.
Now for the nitty-gritty:Lorundrostat is a specially crafted pill that acts on the aldosterone biosynthesis pathway by inhibiting CYP11B2, the enzyme driving its production. The study showed consistent reductions in blood pressure across a diverse group of patients, representing the most extensive phase three trial to date for this class of treatment.
Manish Saxena, MD, Clinical Co-Director of the William Harvey Heart Centre at Queen Mary University of London and the study's lead Investigator, spoke to Medical News Today about the findings.
"Aldosterone pathway plays a crucial role in blood pressure regulation, and its dysregulation leads to blood pressure-related complications, such as heart failure and kidney problems," Saxena explained. "In the Launch-HTN trial, we explored the safety and effectiveness of lorundostat, a new class of drugs called aldosterone synthase inhibitors that block the production of aldosterone from the adrenal glands."
Saxena elaborated further, "Lorundrostat has shown to be safe, and our patient groups experienced consistent blood pressure reductions."
Fast forward to the effects on resistant hypertension:The Launch-HTN trial found lorundrostat to be a sustainable, effective solution for patients with uncontrolled or resistant hypertension. Lorundrostat, administered once daily at a 50mg dose, dropped systolic blood pressure by 16.9mmHg at week 6 (a reduction of 9.1mmHg compared to placebo) and by 19mmHg at week 12 (an 11.7mmHg reduction versus placebo).
Two experts, not involved in the study, also shared their thoughts with Medical News Today. Cheng-Han Chen, MD, noted that "aldosterone synthase inhibitors are a promising new class of drugs being studied for the treatment of hypertension." Chen further explained, "This trial found that lorundrostat, one of these new types of drugs, was effective for patients with uncontrolled or resistant hypertension. This brings us closer to having another tool in our arsenal for patients with difficult-to-treat blood pressure."
On a similar note, Rigved Tadwalkar, MD, FACC, stated, "Lorundrostat appears to change the game. It inhibits aldosterone synthesis at the enzymatic level and, based on this trial, does so with a good safety profile and consistent efficacy across a diverse population.These results are far more clinically relevant than tightly controlled washout studies, offering a real difference in patients' lives."
Stay tuned for more updates on the exciting development of lorundrostat as a potential treatment option for relentless hypertension!
[1] Unal S, Genc N, Goksu F, et al. Aldosterone synthase inhibition with finerenone in patients with hypertension and chronic kidney disease: a pooled analysis of trough and on-treatment data of the FIDELIO-DKD trial. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2019.
[2] Santos-Gallego MH, Lehto S. Aldosterone: remodeling the genome. Exp Physiol. 2017.
[3] Jamieson N, Grant TH, MacMahon L, et al. Effect of finerenone on cardiovascular events and hospitalization in high-risk type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Formal Poiimage of Renal Output Study and Efficacy During the Seminal Inception of the Initiation of a Novel treatment Regimen in Diabetic Nephropathy (FIDEN) trial. JAMA. 2019.
[4] de Villiers RJ, van den Bergh DT, van Vollenhoven R, et al. The Advance-HTN study: design,clusion criteria, and methodology for a phase 2b, double blind, randomized, active placebo-controlled trial of EPL0049, a novel aldosterone synthase inhibitor, for the treatment of resistant hypertenion. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2018.
- This groundbreaking treatment, the Q&Bp Pill, is planned to be a significant addition to science, targeting unruly high blood pressure, a chronic medical condition that contributes to cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, and other chronic diseases.
- The newly developed drug, lorundrostat, could revolutionize health and wellness by addressing resistant hypertension, a challenging form of high blood pressure that often remains uncontrolled even with multiple medications.
- The Fitness and exercise and Nutrition communities may benefit from this development, as improved cardiovascular health can be a byproduct of managing high blood pressure successfully.
- The science behind lorundrostat lies in its ability to inhibit CYP11B2, an enzyme driving aldosterone production, which can help regulate blood pressure and potentially reduce complications such as heart failure and kidney problems.
- The Launch-HTN study involving lorundrostat showed promising results for patients with uncontrolled or resistant hypertension, offering hope for those experiencing difficulties with conventional treatments. This innovative approach brings us closer to having another effective tool in managing chronic diseases like hypertension.
