SMS 201-995 prevents postprandial blood pressure reduction in normotensive and hypertensive elderly subjects.

Author(s): Jansen RW, Lenders JW, Peeters TL, van Lier HJ, Hoefnagels WH

Affiliation(s): Department of Medicine, University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Publication date & source: 1988-12, J Hypertens Suppl., 6(4):S669-72.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial

The mechanism of postprandial blood pressure reduction in the elderly is unknown but it has been suggested that insulin and/or vasoactive gut hormones play a role in this phenomenon. The increase in insulin and other gut hormones induced by the glucose loading can be blocked by a synthetic long-acting somatostatin analogue. SMS 201-995. We carried out a double-blind randomized study on the effects of SMS 201-995 on the responses of blood pressure, heart rate, insulin and plasma noradrenaline to oral glucose loading in normotensive and hypertensive elderly subjects. After placebo was administered, mean arterial pressure fell by 15 +/- 1 mmHg (P less than 0.001) in hypertensive elderly and by 7 +/- 2 mmHg (P less than 0.01) in normotensive elderly subjects. In contrast, when SMS 201-995 was administered, blood pressure remained essentially unchanged in both groups. These data indicate that treatment with SMS 201-995 might be of value in patients with symptomatic postprandial hypotension.