Trial of Blood Pressure Drug Offers Hopeful Early Results

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Lotrel combines a calcium channel blocker, amlodipine besylate, with an ACE inhibitor, benazepril. In the trial, the drug was compared with a different combination medication that combined benazepril with a diuretic, which makes the body lose water. Various groups of patients were given different doses of the drugs.

The control rate achieved with Lotrel was lower for people with conditions that put them at higher risk of cardiovascular disease -- 43 percent for those with diabetes and 40 percent for those with kidney disease. But, the report noted, "Of the patients uncontrolled, 61 percent were not on maximum medications, suggesting potential increases in control rates."

Some skepticism has been expressed about the goals of the ACCOMPLISH trial. Those voicing concerns include Dr. Alan B. Weder, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan.

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But, in a recent interview, Weder said his criticism, published two years ago in Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, wasn't directed so much at ACCOMPLISH as at clinical trials in general. "In the world of clinical trials, ACCOMPLISH is probably one of the better ones," he said.

Still, Weder said, "without doubt, these trials are done to further the interests of the pharmaceutical industry. But I don't see anything wrong with that."

More information

A complete guide to blood pressure and its control is offered by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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