Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hari Krishnan Parthasarathy
Right arrow Articles by Macdonald, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Reviews

Review: Aldosterone Antagonists

Hari Krishnan Parthasarathy

Department of Cardiology, Papworth Hospital, UK, krishnankala{at}hotmail.com

Tom Macdonald

Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

Diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for microvascular and macrovascular disease. Many of the deleterious effects of hyperglycaemia are similar to those of aldosterone on the cardiovascular system (CVS). In addition to its classical epithelial effects, aldosterone has a variety of non-epithelial effects including induction of inflammation, collagen formation, fibrosis and necrosis in the CVS. Interest in these effects has recently re-emerged. The three aldosterone antagonists currently licensed for use in the UK are: spironolactone, potassium canrenoate and eplerenone. Eplerenone is a selective aldosterone receptor antagonist. It is a derivative of spironolactone and has the major advantage of a lower incidence of androgenic and progestogenic side effects. Both spironolactone and eplerenone are effective antihypertensive agents and reduce mortality and morbidity in heart failure. They prevent sudden cardiac death. They also exert renoprotective effects. They should be judiciously used in diabetes due to their tendency for hyperkalemia, however, they have proved vital in providing a more complete inhibition of the deleterious effects of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (aldosterone antagonists).

Key Words: renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system • aldosterone • spironolactone • eplerenone

The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease, Vol. 8, No. 5, 215-219 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1474651408094591
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?