The effect of calcium channel blocker (CCB) treatment on retinal and choroidal vessels in a group of hypertensive patients

Purpose The present study was designed to observe the vasoreactivity in retina and choroid after calcium channel blocker (CCB) treatment in a group of hypertensive patients. Method The study was based on 56 hypertensive patients (56 eyes) and 56 control subjects (56 eyes). Choroidal scans and the measurement of peripapillary retinal vessel diameters was performed at baseline and optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans were also performed at first month . Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and the diameters of superior temporal artery (STA), inferior temporal artery (ITA), superior temporal vein (STV), inferior temporal vein (ITV) were compared between the groups. Results The baseline diameters of the STA, ITA were significantly decreased in the patient group compared with the control group (all p  .05). The average choroidal thickness measurements of the hypertensive group was lower than the control group (p = .404) and there was a tendency to increase after the treatment (p = .055). Conclusion This study demonstrates that, treatment with CCB seems to improve retinal arteries and has almost no affect on the choroidal thickness in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients

Serum endocan levels, carotid intima-media thickness and microalbuminuria in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension

Background: Endocan is a particular protein of endothelial cells. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of serum endocan levels with carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), inflammation, and microalbuminuria in patients with newly-diagnosed hypertension. Materials-Methods: This prospective study included 61 patients with newly-diagnosed hypertension (HT) and 30 controls. Endocan, microalbuminuria and cIMT measurements were taken from all patients. Results: The serum endocan levels, the mean cIMT and microalbuminuria levels of patients with HT were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < .0001, p = .015 and p < .001, respectively). Conclusion: We found that endocan levels were increased in our study. This increase in endocan levels shows a relation with cIMT and microalbuminuria, which are associated with endothelial dysfunction