[Effects of labetalol, a new alpha- and beta-adrenoreceptor blocking drug, on arterial pressure, renal function and renin activity (author's transl)].

Labetalol, a blocker of alpha- and beta-adrenoreceptors, was tried on 45 patients with severe (29 cases) or mild to moderate (16 cases) hypertension. After an initial period of dosage adjustment and a 2 months treatment in effective doses, there was a significant fall in supine blood pressure from mean values of 207/132 to 170/106 mmHg. In 23 patients hypertension was controlled by labetalol alone in doses of 400 and 1800 mg per day. True failures were rare (16%). Digestive disorders and postural hypotension were the most frequently encountered side-effects; they obliged to discontinue treatment in 4 cases, but were compatible with it in 11 cases. In 22 patients the fall in BP was accompanied by a significant (p less than 0,001) decrease in plasma renin activity from 123 to 44 ng/l/min supine and from 144 to 83 ng/l/min standing. Studies of the renal function showed no changes during oral therapy. Following intravenous injection of 50 mg labetalol to 20 subjects, inulin and PAH clearances remained unaltered, and there was a significant, though transient (1 hour), decrease in chloride, sodium and phosphorus excretion. Effective in lowering blood pressure be used and well tolerated by the kidneys, labetalol can safely be used for the treatment of severe hypertension with organic renal involvement.