ASSESSMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION TREATED WITH LERCANIDIPINE

The aim of this longitudinal, open-label, comparative, multi-centre study was to assess cognitive function in hypertensive patients receiving mid-term treatment with lercanidipine. Hypertensive patients aged 40 years or older were treated with lercanidipine (10 mg daily) after 7–10 days washout period. The duration of the study was 6 months. Blood pressure (BP) was measured every 4 weeks (JNC 6th report). In patients with inadequate BP control, doxazosin was added and up-titrated. At baseline and after 6 months of treatment, cognitive function was evaluated using the Spanish validated version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Trail Making Test (TMT). In the study population of 467 patients, BP decreased from 154,4/95,3 mmHg at baseline to 134,8/80,7 mmHg at 6 months. At the end of the study, 98% of patients were receiving lercanidipine, 20% – an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, and 6% – doxazosin. Adequate BP control was obtained in 68% of patients. The mean (standard deviation) MMSE scores improved from 32,35 (2,59) to 33,25 (2,36) (p<0,0001). Patients with good BP control scored significantly better than those with inadequate BP control (p<0,05), which was already observed at the first month. Conclusion: The third-generation calcium channel antagonist, lercanidipine, improved cognitive function after 6 months of treatment especially in patients with good BP control, suggesting that improvements in cognitive function may be associated with a decrease in BP.

Hypertension, cognitive function, lercanidipine

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