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KB-2796, a calcium channel blocker, ameliorates ischemic spinal cord damage in rabbits.

The effect of the calcium channel blocker (KB-2796) on metabolic and functional recovery in rabbit spinal cord after 20, 30, and 40 min ischemia and 4 days of recovery was investigated. The drug was given intraperitoneally in three different doses, 10, 20, or 50 mg/kg pre- or post-ischemia of 20, 30, or 40 min duration. Both higher doses 20 and 30 mg/kg completely recovered energy state and significantly improved neurological functions in the spinal cord following 20 and 30 min ischemia. Partial protection was observed even after 40 min ischemia. The protective effect of KB-2796 exceeds the effect of calcium blockers previously used in experimental spinal cord ischemia.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Role of combination therapy with ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers in renal protection.

Over recent years, a target blood pressure of 125/75 mm Hg has been sought in order to reduce the rate of chronic renal disease (CKD) progression and cardiovascular mortality. Some antihypertensive agents, such as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists and calcium channel blockers also may be capable of reducing CKD progression because they halt some of the pathogenetic mechanisms involved in renal damage. The possibility that combination treatments with ACE inhibitors and calcium-channel blockers may confer additive or even synergistic renoprotective effects other than blood pressure control is not only fascinating, but also particularly important because multidrug antihypertensive regimens are required to obtain adequate blood pressure in the majority of patients with CKD. This combination may provide better blood pressure control, appears to be better tolerated with fewer side effects than either drug alone, and may exert a greater renoprotective effect in patients at risk for renal failure than either an ACE inhibitors or a calcium channel blocker. However, the current available data are too few to confirm this hypothesis. Cardiovascular disease accounts for more than 50% of the deaths of hemodialysis patients. Thus, care must be taken to prevent and treat the cardiovascular risk factors optimally from the early phase of CKD, and for this reason effective antihypertensive therapy is the most important treatment, not only in order to delay CKD progression, but also to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. In this perspective combination therapy with ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers can give further advantages.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗

Synergy between two calcium channel blockers, verapamil and fantofarone (SR33557), in reversing chloroquine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum.

This study describes the synergistic interaction of two calcium channel blockers, verapamil (VR) and SR33557 or fantofarone (SR), in reversing chloroquine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of human malaria. The two calcium channel blockers exhibited an intrinsic antimalarial activity at 10 and 1 microM for verapamil and fantofarone, respectively. Isobolograms revealed that chloroquine and verapamil, and chloroquine and fantofarone, acted synergistically against chloroquine-resistant strains of P. falciparum. When used at subinhibitory concentrations, verapamil appeared 2 to 3 times more potent than fantofarone in reversing chloroquine resistance. Indeed, verapamil completely reversed the chloroquine resistance in P. falciparum, while fantofarone did so only partially. In the highly chloroquine-resistant strain FcB1, VR and SR acted synergistically to reverse CQ resistance, and the concentrations of VR used in these combinations could be reduced 10- or 100-fold (e.g. 100 nM and 10 nM) those required when this drug was used alone. In the moderately chloroquine-resistant strain K1, a combination of VR and SR for CQ resistance reversal allowed us to reduce the concentration of these chemosensitizers 1000- and 100-fold, respectively. The maximum tolerable plasma level beyond which side-effects occurred when using verapamil is 2.5 microM. Thus, the approach described, which allowed us to lower the doses of chemosensitizers, could well prevent toxic effects in humans and enlighten the advantages of polychemotherapy.

Animals↗

Calcium channel blockers protect against ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (2-methoxyethanol)-induced testicular toxicity.

Disruption of normal calcium homeostasis has been implicated in the development of cell injury by certain chemicals. Furthermore, calcium channel blockers, which may prevent such a disruption, were shown to protect against this type of cellular damage in some excitable and nonexcitable tissues. Therefore, the present work was designed to address the role of calcium in the pachytene cell death caused by ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) by investigating the effect of the calcium channel blockers, verapamil and diltiazem, on the pathogenesis of such lesions. Male F344 rats were treated with a single gavage dose of 200 or 300 mg EGME/kg. Other groups of rats were treated with the same doses of EGME in combination with one, two, three, or four doses of verapamil or diltiazem. Twenty-four hours after administration of EGME, the animals were sacrificed, and the left testis and epididymis were excised, fixed in Bouin's solution, embedded in paraffin, sectioned, and stained with PAS-H. The sections were evaluated "blind" and scored for the number of lesioned stage XIV tubules. At 200 mg/kg, EGME produced a moderately severe lesion as characterized by pachytene spermatocyte cell death in stage XIV semniferous tubules. Verapamil was protective against this lesion with the protection being directly proportional to the number of verapamil doses administered and was maximum in rats treated with three doses. At 300 mg/kg, EGME caused a severe lesion in the testis, and verapamil was not as effective in protecting against this lesion as against the low dose of EGME. In contrast, diltiazem was not as effective as verapamil at either dose of EGME. These studies show, for the first time, that verapamil protects rats against EGME-induced testicular toxicity.

Animals↗

Aggravation of left ventricular dilatation and reduction of survival by a calcium channel blocker in rats with chronic myocardial infarction.

The mechanism of adverse effects of calcium channel blockade on cardiac performance and survival in patients with cardiac dysfunction after myocardial infarction is controversial. To test whether left ventricular dilatation and remodeling, as predictors of long-term survival and cardiac performance, are important, rats with healed infarcts received a vasodilating calcium channel blocker (anipamil) or placebo. After 8 weeks the mortality rate (total population n = 111) was 35% with calcium channel blockade and 4% with placebo in rats with infarction (p < 0.001). In survivors with large infarctions (44% +/- 12% of left ventricle, n = 9), calcium channel blockade did not aggravate left ventricular dysfunction and decreased chamber stiffness, but increased left ventricular volume (1.55 +/- 0.13 ml/kg, p = 0.03 vs placebo: 1.16 +/- 0.11 ml/kg; n = 11) (passive pressure-volume relationship) at persistently elevated volume/mass ratio. Thus this study shows for the first time that aggravation of left ventricular dilatation and remodeling is one important mechanism by which calcium channel blockade may reduce survival in the presence of ventricular dysfunction after myocardial infarction.

Animals↗

The combined effects of N-type calcium channel blockers and morphine on A delta versus C fiber mediated nociception.

UNLABELLED: Intrathecal mu opiates produce analgesia presynaptically by inhibiting calcium ion influx and postsynaptically by increasing potassium flux. Mu receptors are expressed on presynaptic terminals of unmyelinated (C), but not myelinated (A delta) nociceptors. Thus, mu-opioids such as morphine may act presynaptically to inhibit C, but not A delta, neurotransmission, and postsynaptically on dorsal horn cells that receive input from A delta and/or C fiber nociceptors. N-type calcium ion channel blockers, such as omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega-CTX), produce analgesia by impeding flux of calcium ions into A delta and C fiber nociceptor terminals. Thus, morphine and omega-CTX attenuated C fiber nociception additively, possibly indicating the same presynaptic site of action. Conversely, morphine and omega- CTX were supraadditively analgesic on an A delta test, indicating that these agents probably have different sites of action. We conclude that although intrathecal application of either morphine or omega-CTX attenuates both A delta and C fiber mediated nociception in rats, the combined effects are quite different for the two fiber types. Specifically, although coadministration of morphine with omega-CTX produces an additive, apparently presynaptic antinociception for C fiber-mediated responses, the combination produces a clearly supraadditive, and likely synergistic effect on A delta mediated nociception, probably by acting at pre and postsynaptic sites, respectively. IMPLICATIONS: This study demonstrates that combined spinal administration of mu opioids and N-type calcium channel blockers may be useful in providing analgesia for A delta mediated (first, sharp) pain while minimizing the side effects of both drugs.

Animals↗

Calcium channel blockers in systemic hypertension.

Alterations in transmembrane flux of calcium ions may be playing a role in the pathophysiology of systemic hypertension. Calcium channel blockers have been shown to be effective antihypertensive drugs with excellent safety profiles. They are efficacious in the long term treatment of systemic hypertension in all population subgroups, and have special applicability for treating patients with hypertensive urgencies and individuals with concomitant diseases such as angina pectoris and arrhythmias.

Animals↗

Effect of calcium channel blocker diltiazem on cytoprotection and prostaglandin and sulfhydryl production by rat gastric epithelial cells.

The calcium channel blockers verapamil and diltiazem protect gastric mucosa against exogenous injury in vivo. Whether this protection is mediated by systemic factors, such as blood flow, is due to inhibition of gastric acid secretion, or is associated with stimulation of endogenous protective agents such as prostaglandins or sulfhydryls, is unknown. We have evaluated whether diltiazem protects rat gastric epithelial cells in tissue culture (a model which excludes the influence of systemic factors) against damage induced by sodium taurocholate, indomethacin, or ethanol. Further we have assessed the effect of diltiazem on prostaglandin and sulfhydryl production. 51Chromium release assay and phase contrast microscopy have been used to assess cell damage. Sodium taurocholate, indomethacin, and ethanol-damaged cultured cells in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with diltiazem did not prevent the drug-induced damage. Diltiazem did not increase PGE2 and 6-keto PGF1a production by cultured cells nor did it affect the cellular level of endogenous sulfhydryls. In conclusion, the calcium channel blocker diltiazem is not directly protective to rat gastric mucosal cells in vitro. Diltiazem does not stimulate prostaglandin production by gastric cells nor does it increase the cellular level of protective sulfhydryls.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗

Risk of esophageal and gastric adenocarcinomas in relation to use of calcium channel blockers, asthma drugs, and other medications that promote gastroesophageal reflux.

Incidence of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and gastric cardia has risen dramatically over the past 2 decades in the U. S., for reasons that are not yet clear. A number of common medications (e.g., calcium channel blockers, tricyclic antidepressants, and certain asthma medications) promote gastroesophageal reflux by relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Reflux is thought to increase cancer risk by promoting cellular proliferation, and by exposing the esophageal epithelium to potentially genotoxic gastric and intestinal contents. Recent studies have suggested that calcium channel blockers may also increase cancer risk by inhibiting apoptosis. Using personal interview data from a multicenter, population-based case-control study conducted between 1993 and 1995 in three areas of the U. S., we evaluated whether the use of LES-relaxing drugs was associated with increased risk of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and gastric cardia. Cases of esophageal adenocarcinoma (n = 293) and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (n = 261) were compared with general population controls (n = 695). Information on additional case groups of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (n = 221) and noncardia gastric cancer (n = 368) were also available for comparison. Overall, 27.4% of controls had used one or more of these drugs for at least 6 months, compared with 30.2% of esophageal adenocarcinoma and 23.8% of gastric cardia adenocarcinoma cases. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for ever use were 1.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.7-1.5] and 0.8 (95% CI = 0.5-1.1), respectively. There was little evidence of increasing risk with increasing duration of use of all LES-relaxing drugs together. We found an increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma among persons reporting use of asthma drugs containing theophylline (OR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.1-5.6) or beta agonists (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 0.8-3.8). Risks were higher among long-term users (>5 years) of these drugs (OR = 3.1; 95% CI = 0.9-10.3 and OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 0.8-7.0, respectively). In contrast, there was no evidence that the use of calcium channel blockers or other specific groups of drugs increased the risk of any of the cancers studied. These results provide reassuring evidence that the increases in incidence of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and gastric cardia are not likely to be related to the use of LES-relaxing drugs as a group, or calcium channel blockers in particular, but they do suggest that persons treated for long-standing asthma may be at increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Comparison of the efficacy of dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers in African American patients with hypertension. ISHIB Investigators Group. International Society on Hypertension in Blacks.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a prevalent disease among African Americans, and successful treatment rates are low. Since calcium channel blockers are well-tolerated and efficacious in African Americans, we undertook this study to compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of 3 commonly prescribed calcium channel blockers: amlodipine besylate (Norvasc), nifedipine coat core (CC) (Adalat CC), and nifedipine gastrointestinal therapeutic system (GITS) (Procardia XL). METHODS: One hundred ninety-two hypertensive patients across 10 study centers were randomly assigned to double-blind monotherapy with amlodipine besylate (5 mg/d), nifedipine CC (30 mg/d), or nifedipine GITS (30 mg/d) for 8 weeks. Patients not achieving therapeutic response after 4 weeks had their dose doubled for the next 4 weeks. The primary end point was a comparison of the average reduction (week 8 minus baseline) in 24-hour ambulatory diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Secondary end points included a comparison of average 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure (SBP), office SBP or DBP reduction, responder rates, safety, and tolerability. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-three patients were evaluable for efficacy after 8 weeks. There was no significant difference in the average 24-hour ambulatory DBP (-8.5, -9.0, and -6.1 mm Hg, respectively) or SBP (-14.3, -15.7, and -11.8 mm Hg, respectively) reduction. Average office SBP and DBP were reduced to a comparable degree (19-22 mm Hg [P =.50] and 12-14 mm Hg [P =.51], respectively). Responder rates (DBP <90 or reduced by > or = 10 mm Hg) were similar (P = .38). Discontinuation rates and adverse event frequency were distributed similarly across the 3 treatment groups. CONCLUSION: The efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the 3 dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers are equivalent in African Americans with stages 1 and 2 hypertension.

Adult↗

N-type calcium channel blockers: novel therapeutics for the treatment of pain.

Highly selective Ca(v)2.2 voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) inhibitors have emerged as a new class of therapeutics for the treatment of chronic and neuropathic pain. Cone snail venoms provided the first drug in class with FDA approval granted in 2005 to Prialt (omega-conotoxin MVIIA, Elan) for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Since this pioneering work, major efforts underway to develop alternative small molecule inhibitors of Ca(v)2.2 calcium channel have met with varied success. This review focuses on the properties of the Ca(v)2.2 calcium channel in different pain states, the action of omega-conotoxins GVIA, MVIIA and CVID, describing their structure-activity relationships and potential as leads for the design of improved Ca(v)2.2 calcium channel therapeutics, and finally the development of small molecules for the treatment of chronic pain.

Animals↗

Antihypertensive agents and renal protection: calcium channel blockers.

This study defines the nature of the renal protective effects of calcium channel blockers (Ca blockers) and the effects of the Ca blocker, amlodipine, compared to those of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), enalapril, on the progression of renal injury in 5/6 nephrectomized spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) fed a high-salt diet. Furthermore, we studied the effects of various Ca blockers on the glomerular afferent and efferent arterioles using the isolated perfused hydronephrotic kidneys of six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. In the first study, forty 6-week-old male SHRs which underwent 5/6 nephrectomy were equally divided into five groups. One group received no therapy. In two groups, therapy was started at four weeks post-nephrectomy, one with amlodipine and the other with enalapril. In the remaining two groups, amlodipine or enalapril therapy was started at eight weeks postnephrectomy. Amlodipine was more effective than enalapril in reducing proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis in the group that was started on drug therapy eight weeks after surgery. In the second study, at concentrations of 10(-6) to 10(-9) M, nifedipine, nicardipine and amlodipine dilated the afferent, but not the efferent, arteriole preconstricted with angiotensin II. On the other hand, efonidipine and manidipine clearly dilated angiotensin II-induced constriction of both the afferent and efferent arterioles. These results indicated that Ca blockers are effective at reducing renal injury in 5/6 nephrectomized SHR, and that they are more effective than ACEI in advanced stages of renal injury. The observation that only certain Ca blockers can dilate the efferent arteriole suggests that the renal protective effect of Ca blockers is not necessarily dependent on the dilation of the efferent arterioles.

Amlodipine↗

Three-dimensional solution structure of the calcium channel antagonist omega-agatoxin IVA: consensus molecular folding of calcium channel blockers.

The three-dimensional solution structure of omega-agatoxin IVA, which is a specific blocker of the P-type calcium channel isolated from funnel web spider venom and has a molecular mass of 5.2 kDa, was determined by two dimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy, combined with simulated annealing calculations. On the basis of 563 experimental constraints, including 516 distance constraints obtained from the nuclear Overhauser effect, 21 torsion angle (phi, chi 1) constraints, and 26 constraints associated with hydrogen bonds and disulfide bonds, a total of 14 converged structures were obtained. The atomic root mean square difference for the 14 converged structures with respect to the mean coordinates is 0.42 (+/- 0.07) A for the backbone atoms (N, C alpha, C) and 0.95 (+/- 0.15) A for all heavy atoms of the central part (residues 4 to 38) constrained by four disulfide bonds. The N- and C-terminal segments (residues 1 to 3 and 39 to 48, respectively) have a disordered structure in aqueous solution. The molecular structure of omega-agatoxin IVA is composed of a short triple-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet, three loops, and the disordered N- and C-terminal segments. The overall beta-sheet topology is +2x, -1, which is the same as that reported for omega-conotoxin GVIA, an N-type calcium channel blocker. Irrespective of differences in the number of disulfide bonds and low primary sequence homology, these two peptide toxins show a significant structural similarity in three dimensions. The whole-cell voltage-clamp recording using rat cerebellar slices suggests that the hydrophobic C-terminal segment of omega-agatoxin IVA, which does not exist in omega-conotoxin GVIA, plays a crucial role in the blocking action of omega-agatoxin IVA on the P-type calcium channel in rat cerebellar Purkinje cells. The present study provides a molecular basis for the toxin-channel interaction, and thereby provides insight into the discrimination of different subtypes of calcium channels.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Role of calcium channel blockers in the future, in view of the INSIGHT Study.

The data from The International Nifedipine Intervention as a Goal in Hypertension Treatment (INSIGHT) Study indicate that effectively reducing blood pressure can decrease the incidence of cardiovascular events in high risk patients with concomitant pathology, including diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, as well as in smokers and those with poor family history. Old and new antihypertensive drugs were similar in preventing cardiovascular mortality as major events. The glomerular filtration rate of patients on co-amilozide went down compared to those on nifedipine. Metabolic parameters, as expected, were not disturbed during treatment with calcium channel blockers, in contrast to the high-dose diuretic-treated population. Ankle edema induced by nifedipine was very disturbing. It can be concluded that overall calcium channel blockers are neither better nor worse than conventional therapy, allowing for possible small differences in stroke (advantage to calcium channel blockers) and myocardial infarction (advantage to diuretics). Thus, calcium channel blockers should be included in the future among the first choice drugs.

Aged↗

Photo-damage in Northern European renal transplant recipients is associated with use of calcium channel blockers.

Photo-damage of the head and neck was assessed, by visual inspection, in 82 Northern European renal transplant recipients attending a dermatology clinic. Photo-damage was graded as absent, mild, moderate and severe and the presence or absence of skin telangiectasia, solar elastosis, erythema and pigmentation was assessed. The duration and type of immunosuppressant and calcium channel blocker medication was recorded. Ninety percent had photo-damaged skin with 41 (50%) having mild photo-damage, 20 (24%) moderate photo-damage and 13 (16%) severe photo-damage. Sixty-two (76%) had pigmentation, 43 (52%) telangiectasia, 65 (79%) papular changes and 51 (65%) erythema. Fifty-three patients (65%) had received a calcium channel blocker (49 nifedipine, four amlodipine). The grade of photo-damage was strongly associated with use of calcium channel blockers (P=0.001) as was the presence of telangiectasia (P=0.001) and solar elastosis (P=0.04). Photo-damage is frequent in this population of renal transplant patients. Telangiectasia in association with calcium channel blockers has been reported rarely but appears to be common in the transplant population.

Adult↗

T-type and L-type calcium channel blockers exert opposite effects on renin secretion and renin gene expression in conscious rats.

1. This study aimed to investigate and to compare the effects of pharmacological T-type calcium channel and of L-type calcium channel blockade on the renin system. To this end, male healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with the T-channel blocker mibefradil or with the L-channel blocker amlodipine at doses of 5 mg kg(-1), 15 mg kg(-1) and 45 mg kg(-1) per day for four days and their effects on plasma renin activity (PRA) and kidney renin mRNA levels were determined. 2. Whilst amlodipine lowered basal systolic blood pressure at 5 mg kg(-1), mibefradil had no effect on basal blood pressure in the whole dose range examined. Amlodipine dose-dependently induced up to 7 fold elevation of PRA and renin mRNA levels. Mibefradil significantly lowered PRA and renin mRNA levels at 5 mg kg(-1) and moderately increased both parameters at a dose of 45 mg kg(-1), when PRA and renin mRNA levels were increased by 100% and 30%, respectively. In primary cultures of renal juxtaglomerular cells neither amlodipine nor mibefradil (0.1-10 microM) changed renin secretion. 3. In rats unilateral renal artery clips (2K-1C) mibefradil and amlodipine at doses of 15 mg kg(-1) day(-1) were equally effective in lowering blood pressure. In contrast mibefradil (5 mg kg(-1) and 15 mg kg(-1) day(-1)) significantly attenuated the rise of PRA and renin mRNA levels, whilst amlodipine (15 mg kg(-1)) additionally elevated the rise of PRA and renin mRNA levels in response to renal artery clipping. 4. These findings suggest that T-type calcium channel blockers can inhibit renin secretion and renin gene expression in vivo, whilst L-type calcium channel blockers act as stimulators of the renin system. Since the inhibitory effect of T-type antagonists is apparent in vivo but not in vitro, one may infer that the effect on the renin system is indirect rather than directly mediated at the level of renal juxtaglomerular cells.

Amlodipine↗