Manidipine treatment in patients with albuminuria not sufficiently reduced with renin-angiotensin system blockers.

Microalbuminuria is an issue of great concern in hypertensive patients owing to its close relation with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Treatment should aim to reduce microalbuminuria to the normal range. Drugs that block the renin-angiotensin system have specific antiproteinuric properties, but more than one drug is needed to achieve blood pressure control in most cases. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of adding manidipine to the treatment of patients with essential hypertension and persistent albuminuria, despite full-dose treatment with a renin-angiotensin system blocker on urinary albumin excretion (UAE) after 24 weeks of therapy. Patients with diabetes and renal insufficiency were excluded. At baseline, blood pressure and UAE were 155.1 +/- 12/87.76 +/- 11 mmHg and 293.19 +/- 285 mg/g, respectively. At study end, blood pressure was 137.1 +/- 13.1/77.24 +/- 10.4 mmHg (p < 0.001 vs baseline). UAE was reduced by 45% to 161.52 +/- 163 mg/g (p < 0.001 vs baseline). No correlations were found between systolic blood pressure reduction and UAE reduction (Pearson's R = -0.034; p = not significant) nor between estimated glomerular filtration rate and UAE reduction (Pearson's R = -0.0056; p = not significant). No patient withdrew from the study owing to side effects. In conclusion, treatment with manidipine resulted in a large reduction in UAE rates, and this reduction appeared to be independent of the degree of blood pressure reduction or changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate. Our data supports the added value of manidipine in the treatment of patients with hypertension and microalbuminuria.