Comparison of the effects of nilvadipine and captopril on glucose and lipid metabolism in NIDDM patients with hypertension.

Changes of glucose and lipid metabolism in NIDDM hypertensive patients during treatment with a new dihydropyridine derivative, nilvadipine, were examined by a randomized, crossover study comparing the results with those elicited by captopril in 18 patients for 12 weeks each. Nilvadipine (8 mg per day) and captopril retard (75 mg per day) caused a sufficient decrease in blood pressure without changing the pulse rate. Nilvadipine and captopril did not significantly change fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or apoprotein A-I, A-II and B levels in either of the 12-week treatments. In 75-g oral glucose tolerance tests carried out three times in each patient (before treatment and after 12 weeks of treatment with each drug), changes in plasma glucose and serum insulin levels were not significantly different among the three tests. These results demonstrate that nilvadipine as well as captopril are antihypertensive drugs without adverse effects on glucose and lipid metabolism in hypertensive patients with NIDDM.