Aldosterone News and Research

RSS

Aldosterone is a steroid hormone made by the adrenal cortex (the outer layer of the adrenal gland). It helps control the balance of water and salts in the kidney by keeping sodium in and releasing potassium from the body. Too much aldosterone can cause high blood pressure and a build-up of fluid in body tissues. Aldosterone is a type of mineralocorticoid hormone.

Relypsa commences enrollment for RLY5016 Phase 2 study in heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease

Relypsa, Inc., today announced the initiation of patient enrollment in a Phase 2, open-label titration clinical study of the company's lead drug candidate, RLY5016, in heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease. RLY5016 is a novel non-absorbed oral potassium binder intended to prevent and treat hyperkalemia, a serious condition characterized by elevated serum potassium levels.

16 Jun 2010

Bayer sues Teva, Barr in connection with oral contraceptive Gianvi

Today, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer Schering Pharma AG sued Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Barr Pharmaceuticals LLC, and Barr Laboratories, Inc. in the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) for false advertising and patent infringement in connection with Teva's generic oral contraceptive, Gianvi™. Teva's product is sold as a generic version of Bayer HealthCare's leading oral contraceptive YAZ®.

16 Jun 2010

Pfizer plans recruitment halt to EMPHASIS-HF trial

Pfizer Inc. announced that it plans to halt recruitment to the EMPHASIS-HF trial early on the recommendations of the trial's independent Executive Steering Committee (ESC). The recommendations follow a second interim analysis by the independent Data Safety Monitoring Committee (DSMC) of the EMPHASIS-HF trial confirming the study has reached its primary efficacy endpoint early according to the protocol pre-defined stopping rules.

27 May 2010

ElexoPharm GmbH, Merck announce collaboration and exclusive worldwide license agreement

ElexoPharm GmbH announced today a collaboration and exclusive worldwide license agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. Whitehouse Station, New Jersey USA (also known as MSD outside of the US and Canada) through an affiliate to develop and commercialize novel candidates targeting aldosterone synthase for the potential treatment of cardiovascular disease.

17 May 2010

New data on salt-sensitive hypertension to be presented at ASH 2010 conference

With governmental authorities, academicians, healthcare providers and industry grappling with the level of salt in the diet in an effort to reduce its impact on high blood pressure, new data evaluating a potential genetic component to salt-sensitive hypertension will be presented at the American Society of Hypertension, Inc.'s 25th Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2010).

4 May 2010

Mayo Clinic Health Letter provides treatment options for people with heart disorders

Fewer than one-third of patients with heart failure are taking the three types of medications that are most effective in prolonging life and improving quality of life. The November issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter provides an overview of treatments recommended by national guidelines.

16 Nov 2009

Self-care tips for hemorrhoids from Mayo Clinic

By about age 50, more than half of adults have dealt with hemorrhoids. The November issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter covers home treatments that can relieve symptoms of this common and embarrassing problem.

16 Nov 2009

Aldosterone antagonist therapy can be adopted for treating heart failure

Less than one-third of patients hospitalized for heart failure and participating in a quality improvement registry received a guideline-recommended treatment of heart failure, aldosterone antagonist therapy, according to a study in the October 21 issue of JAMA.

26 Oct 2009

Study explores aldosterone antagonist usage among US patients hospitalised with heart failure

A study published today in JAMA (October 21) by Nancy M. Albert and colleagues, exploring aldosterone antagonist usage among US patients hospitalised with heart failure, found that only one-third of patients meeting current US Clinical Practice Guidelines criteria were actually being treated.

22 Oct 2009

Study of aldosterone antagonist usage among patients hospitalised with heart failure published

21 Oct 2009

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals receives NDA approval from FDA for its Micardis Tablets 80 mg

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for its angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) Micardis® (telmisartan) Tablets 80 mg for reduction of the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes in patients 55 years of age or older at high risk of developing major cardiovascular events who are unable to take angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.(1) MICARDIS is the most studied ARB in this high-risk patient population and has been commercially available to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) since its approval in 1998.

19 Oct 2009

Relypsa commences patient enrollment in Phase 2b clinical trial of RLY5016 for treating hyperkalemia

Relypsa, Inc., today announced the initiation of patient enrollment in the PEARL-HF study, a Phase 2b clinical trial of the company’s lead compound, RLY5016. A novel potassium binder designed for chronic use, RLY5016 is being evaluated in the prevention and treatment of hyperkalemia, for which there are no current satisfactory treatments.

7 Oct 2009

FDA approves Valturna tablets for treating high blood pressure

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Valturna((R)) (aliskiren and valsartan) tablets, the first and only medicine to target two key points within the renin system, also known as the renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS), an important regulator of blood pressure.

18 Sep 2009

IMPROVE HF clinical trial results presented at annual HFSA meeting

Twenty-four month findings from IMPROVE HF, (The Registry to Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Heart Failure Therapies in the Outpatient Setting), funded by Medtronic, Inc., demonstrated that clinics using the process improvement program increased adherence to evidence-based, guideline-recommended care by 82 and 62 percent, respectively, for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) use, and 80 percent for aldosterone antagonist use, all relative to baseline results.

15 Sep 2009

Modest decline for hypertension drug industry over the next decade

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that despite generic erosion of many branded agents -- most notably Novartis's Diovan -- the hypertension drug market will experience only modest decline over the next decade.

26 Aug 2009

ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers suppress inflammation in mice

Conventional blood pressure medication can treat inflammation in an animal model mimicking multiple sclerosis (MS). This discovery was made by Dr. Michael Platten, head consultant at the department of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital and head of the Helmholtz Experimental Neuroimmunology Junior Research Group on at the German Cancer Research Center and his team in cooperation with scientists from Stanford University in California.

19 Aug 2009

Overweight male teenagers with normal blood pressures showing signs of heart damage

Even while their blood pressures are still normal, overweight male teens may have elevated levels of a hormone known to increase pressures as well as early signs of heart damage, researchers say.

1 Jun 2009

Determining success or failure in cholesterol-controlling drugs

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that a complex network of interactions between drugs and the proteins with which they bind can explain adverse drug effects. Their findings suggest that adverse drug effects might be minimized by using single or multiple drug therapies in order to fine-tune multiple off-target interactions.

15 May 2009

Low lead levels in children can affect cardiovascular responses to stress

Even low levels of lead found in the blood during early childhood can adversely affect how the child's cardiovascular system responds to stress and could possibly lead to hypertension later in life, according to a study from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego.

20 Apr 2009

New target for heart failure therapy identified

A novel signaling pathway plays a significant role in the production of aldosterone, a hormone that promotes heart failure after a myocardial infarction, according to a study conducted by Thomas Jefferson University researchers.

16 Mar 2009