The nifedipine gastrointestinal therapeutic system in the treatment of hypertension

Nifedipine GITS Replacing Nifedipine SR: Ambulatory Blood Pressure Assessment of Efficacy

“…It is reported to be efficacious, safe and predict able in the treatment of hypertension, both alone and in combination therapy [3,5,7], Our findings confirmed these observations, since our hypertensive patients previously controlled on nifedipine SR 40 mg b.i.d. could be converted to the long-acting nife dipine GITS formulation without experiencing any loss in blood pressure control or any increase in adverse events.…”

“…Several SR formulations of nifedipine have been syn thesized and found to be effective in the management of hypertension and/or stable angina [3][4][5], They proved to be effective and well tolerated in patients at all ages [6] and in those with coexisting diabetes and angina pectoris [7], Nifedipine GITS, a more recently developed formula tion that slowly releases the drug into the intestinal tract over a 24-hour period, is suitable for once daily oral administration [8], Its effect on the structure of resistant arteries was shown by Schiffrin and Deng [9], From a pharmacokinetic perspective its concentration in the plas ma remains without large fluctuations over a full day [10], which may improve the efficacy and tolerability of the drug [ 11 ]. It is reported to be efficacious, safe and predict able in the treatment of hypertension, both alone and in combination therapy [3,5,7], Our findings confirmed these observations, since our hypertensive patients previously controlled on nifedipine SR 40 mg b.i.d.…”

Morning versus evening administration of nifedipine gastrointestinal therapeutic system in the management of essential hypertension

“…Since the new formulation of nifedipine provides a constant release of the drug thus avoiding peaks and troughs in p l a s m a levels, one might expect a smaller incidence of side effects such as flushing and tachycardia. According to this hypothesis some authors reported a better tolerance of nifedipine G I T S than of conventional nifedipine capsule treatment [8,9]. In studies with various dose regimens the overall incidence of adverse events was low in the 30 mg nifedipine group and increased with higher doses [2,12].…”

“…In a large multicenter trial including 1155 patients with mild to moderate hypertension a mean blood pressure reduction from 153/ 100to 135/86mmHg with an average dose of 80 mg nifedipine GITS was observed [12]. Further studies with a much smaller number of cases showed a comparable blood pressure reduction [2,8,9]. In these trials nifedipine was usually started at a dose of 30 mg per day and was then adjusted upwards in increments of 30 mg as needed until goal blood pressure was achieved.…”

“…It is based on a membrane-controlled osmotic push-pull pump that delivers the drug into the intestinal tract at a constant rate. Safety and antihypertensive efficacy of this formulation have already been demonstrated in various studies [2,8,9].…”