To investigate the efficacy and safety of desmopressin in patients with mixed nocturia, Patients aged > or =18 yr with mixed nocturia (> or =2 voids/night and a nocturnal polyuria index [NPi] >33% and a nocturnal bladder capacity index [NBCi] >1) were recruited. The optimum dose of oral desmopressin was determined during a 3-week dose-titration period and the determined dose was maintained for 4 weeks. The efficacy was assessed by the frequency-volume charts and the sleep questionnaire. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a 50% or greater reduction in the number of nocturnal voids (NV) compared with baseline. Among 103 patients enrolled, 94 (79 men and 15 women) were included in the analysis. The proportion of patients with a 50% or greater reduction in NV was 68 (72%). The mean number of NV decreased significantly (3.20 to 1.34) and the mean nocturnal urine volume, nocturia index, NPi, and NBCi decreased significantly. The mean duration of sleep until the first NV was prolonged from 118.4+/-44.1 to 220.3+/-90.7 min (P<0.001). The overall impression of patients about their quality of sleep improved. Adverse events occurred in 6 patients, including one asymptomatic hyponatremia. Desmopressin is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for mixed nocturia.
Administration, Oral ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antidiuretic Agents/*administration & dosage ; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin/*administration & dosage ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nocturia/complications/*drug therapy ; Polyuria/complications/*drug therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Questionnaires ; Sleep/drug effects/physiology ; Urinary Bladder/*physiopathology ; Urodynamics/physiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the impacts of Xuezhikang (XZK) or pravastatin combined with antihypertensive drugs on circulating endothelial progenitor cells (CEPCs) in essential hypertensive (EH) patients.

METHODSEighty-eight EH patients were enrolled into the study and randomly assigned to the antihypertensive drug treatment group (ATH group, 29 cases), the pravastatin treatment group (PRA group, 29 cases) and the Xuezhikang treatment group (XZK group, 30 cases). Patients in the 3 groups were treated with routine antihypertensive drugs. In addition, pravastatin and Xuezhikang were given to the patients in the PRA group and XZK group, respectively. After an eight-week treatment, CEPCs were counted using a laser scanning confocal microscope, and their proliferation function was evaluated by the MTT colorimetric assay and the adherent cell number was counted to estimate the adhesion function.

RESULTSAfter the treatment, CEPCs in the PRA group (116.60+/-5.70) and XZK group (114.40+/-6.55) was significantly higher than that in the ATH group (88.00+/-6.32, P<0.01). CEPCs proliferation capability and the adhesion function in the PRA group (0.406+/-0.016, 33.60+/-4.26) and XZK group (0.415+/-0.018, 34.30+/-3.77) were obviously superior to those in the ATH group (0.333+/-0.021, P<0.01; 23.30+/-3.19, P<0.01). No significant difference was found between the pravastatin group and the XZK group.

CONCLUSIONSCombined use of XZK or pravastatin with the anti-hypertensive therapy could increase the CEPCs number and improve their function in EH patients with the blood pressure controlled by antihypertensive drugs, leading to benefits independent of pressure-lowering effects.

Aged ; Anticholesteremic Agents ; administration & dosage ; Antidiuretic Agents ; administration & dosage ; Antihypertensive Agents ; administration & dosage ; Blood Cell Count ; Calcium Channel Blockers ; administration & dosage ; Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Endothelial Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; blood ; drug therapy ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Integrative Medicine ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pravastatin ; administration & dosage ; Stem Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; physiology