Etozolin

Etozolin is a new diuretic with hypotensive properties. The above research was aimed to evaluating the effects of etozolin, captopril and their combination in a group of 30 patients with essential hypertension; age range 42-74 years, average 76.6. Patients were subdivided into two groups for a controlled cross-over trial. Group I was treated for 4 weeks with daily etozolin doses of 200 mg, and, after a period of withdrawal until basal values were restored, for a further 4-week period with captopril, 25 mg 3 times daily. Group II had the same treatments in the opposite order. After this cross-over experiment, all patients were treated for 16 weeks with both drugs in combination at the same dosage. Treatment with etozolin led to a reduction of arterial blood pressure from 187/112 +/- 10/4 mmHg to 167/99 +/- 7/6 mmHg; for captopril the corresponding figures were from 186/112 +/- 11.5 mmHg to 163/98 +/- 7.4 mmHg and for the combination from 188/112 +/- 10/5 mmHg to 154/86 +/- 6/5 mmHg. These findings confirmed the efficacy of etozolin and captopril alone; the combination of the two drugs led to a significantly more marked reduction of pressure values compared to monotherapy and neutralized such biochemical changes as had been observed after administration of the two drugs alone. Tolerance was excellent for all treatment schedules used.

A total of 1337 patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension were included in an open, multicentre trial to assess the response rate to the diuretic etozolin (200 mg once a day) and to verify whether the addition of the calcium antagonist verapamil (120 mg twice a day) in non-responders may have a favourable effect. Etozolin lowered diastolic blood pressure to below 95 mmHg in 67.8% of patients after 4 weeks of treatment and in 62.4% of patients after 12 weeks. The patients who failed to respond to etozolin were given verapamil (120 mg twice a day), and 72.8% of these patients showed a good response to the combined treatment. Normalization of blood pressure was achieved in 83.6% of the total patients. The incidence of side effects was 14.3%; withdrawal due to side effects was reported in 2.5% of patients. Abnormalities on the ECG were recorded in 5.5% of patients. No consistent metabolic or electrolyte change was observed. In conclusion, etozolin given at a dose of 200 mg once a day seems to be an effective and safe antihypertensive agent. Its antihypertensive effect remains unaltered for 12 weeks at least. The combination with verapamil may be effective in those who do not respond to etozolin alone.