Medications

FDA: montelukast tablet bottles recalled

(HealthDay)—Some bottles of montelukast (Singulair) tablets for asthma have been recalled by Camber Pharmaceuticals because they contain the wrong medication, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

Medications

More blood pressure drugs recalled

The recall of the commonly prescribed blood pressure drug losartan has been expanded once again to include an additional five lots.

Medical research

Losartan protects against loss of old or damaged muscle: study

Using geriatric mice, a Johns Hopkins research team has shown that losartan, a commonly used blood pressure drug, not only improves regeneration of injured muscle but also protects against its wasting away from inactivity.

Sleep disorders

Losartan reduces aldosterone in patients with HTN, without OSA

(HealthDay)—For patients with hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), treatment with losartan does not lead to significant reductions in aldosterone, but the treatment is tied to aldosterone reductions in patients ...

Oncology & Cancer

Blood-pressure drug may help improve cancer treatment

Use of existing, well-established hypertension drugs could improve the outcome of cancer chemotherapy by opening up collapsed blood vessels in solid tumors. In their report in the online journal Nature Communications, Massachusetts ...

page 1 from 3

Losartan

Losartan (rINN) ( /loʊˈsɑrtən/) is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist drug used mainly to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Losartan was the first angiotensin II receptor antagonist to be marketed. Losartan potassium is marketed by Merck & Co. Inc. under the trade name Cozaar. As of 2009[update], losartan is available in generic form.

As with all angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) antagonists, losartan is indicated for the treatment of hypertension. It may also delay progression of diabetic nephropathy, and is also indicated for the reduction of renal disease progression in patients with type 2 diabetes, hypertension and microalbuminuria (>30 mg/24 hours) or proteinuria (>900 mg/24 hours).[citation needed]

Although clinical evidence shows calcium channel blockers and thiazide-type diuretics are preferred first-line treatments for most patients (from both efficacy and cost points of view), an angiotensin II receptor antagonist such as losartan is recommended as first-line treatment in patients under the age of 55 who cannot tolerate an ACE inhibitor. The LIFE study demonstrated losartan was significantly superior to atenolol in the primary prevention of adverse cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction or stroke), with a significant reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality for a comparable reduction in blood pressure. A study hints that losartan has a beneficial effect on mitochondria by reversing age related dysfunction in maintaining normal blood pressure and cellular energy usage.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA