Contrasting effects of pyrazinoylguanidine and hydrochlorothiazide in patients with renal insufficiency

Studies on pyrazinoylguanidine: a novel antihypertensive, hypoglycemic and lipolytic drug intended for adjunctive use in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Herein are described the development and certain properties of a new drug, pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG), intended for use as an adjunct in the treatment of hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes, formerly called noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus. PZG is an analog of the potassium sparing diuretic, amiloride. However, in diabetic patients, amiloride exacerbates hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, whereas PZG reduces them. In several studies, PZG not only reduced elevated blood pressure in subjects with essential hypertension, but also downregulated the glucose fatty acid cycle in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes. PZG was well tolerated in all patients, as well as in normal subjects whose blood pressures and glucose metabolism were unaffected by PZG. However, in normal subjects made hyperglycemic by giving them hydrochlorothiazide, coadministration of PZG returned blood glucose concentrations to normal. Mechanisms for these effects of PZG in human subjects were investigated in both normal Sprague-Dawley rats and rats made diabetic with streptozotocin (STZ). In isolated rat adipocytes stimulated with theophylline, PZG downregulated both lipolysis and cyclic AMP concentrations. PZG, as well as insulin, increased adipose cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity, whereas theophylline reduced it. In perfused rat liver, PZG decreased gluconeogenesis and cyclic AMP concentrations. Collectively, these studies illustrate how the side effects (toxicity) of certain drugs, such as the tendency of thiazide diuretics to cause hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, can be modulated and even reversed by slight changes in the chemical structure of the molecule, specifically by removal of the 3,5-diamino and 6-chloro substituents on the benzene ring of amiloride to produce PZG.

Pyrazinoylguanidine downregulates the glucose fatty-acid cycle in hypertensive, hyperinsulinemic diabetic patients

Eight hypertensive patients with noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were administered the experimental drug pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG) either alone or in combination with calcium-channel or beta-blockers. This treatment appeared to "downregulate" the glucose fatty acid cycle and reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressures and mean body weight. Patients served as their own controls in this dose-escalation study, which included placebo treatment (baseline) 3 weeks, 300 mg PZG for 3 weeks and 600 mg for 3 weeks. PZG reduced increased serum concentrations of free fatty acids (FFA), glucose, and triglycerides (TG). TG concentrations correlated inversely with serum HDL-cholesterol concentrations. The beta-blockers used by several patients increased their FFA, glucose, insulin and TG concentrations, as well as blunting their response to PZG. The calcium-channel blockers exerted these effects to a much lesser extent. PZG reduced or abolished glycosuria, related to PZG's capacity to decrease hyperglycemia. Withdrawal of PZG restored glycosuria, as blood sugar increased. PZG was well tolerated. No patient reported any adverse effect or missed a weekly clinic visit (12 weeks). PZG deserves further study as supplementary and/or replacement therapy in NIDDM patients who are hypertensive and hyperlipidemic.

Effects of pyrazinoylguanidine on the glucose-fatty acid cycle in normal subjects and patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG) reduced the hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperlipidemia of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) as well as of normal subjects receiving hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). Mechanisms are proposed by which PZG downregulated the elevated glucose-fatty acid cycle toward a more normal level in NIDDM patients and in non-diabetic subjects maintained on HCTZ. Despite maintenance of these NIDDM patients on their current antihypertensive medication, PZG reduced further their systolic and diastolic pressures. PZG was well tolerated by both normal and NIDDM patients.