Comparison of effects of valsartan and amlodipine on cognitive functions and auditory P300 event-related potentials in elderly hypertensive patients

摘要

Objective: We compared the antihypertensive effect of valsartan (VAL) and amlodipine (AML) treatments in elderly hypertensive patients by examining the long-term changes in cognitive function and auditory P300 eventrelated potentials.Methods: We enrolled 20 outpatients, including 12 men and 8 women in the age group of 56 to 81 yearswho hadmild tomoderate essential hypertension. The subjectswere randomly allocated to receive either 80mgVAL once a day (10 patients) or 5 mg AML once a day (10 patients). Neuropsychological assessment and auditory P300 event-related potentials were obtained before initiation of VAL or AML treatment and after 6 months of the treatment with VAL or AML. Neuropsychological assessment was evaluated by conducting the Mini-Mental State Examination, the verbal fluency, word-list memory, word-list recall test, word-list recognition, and Trails B tests.Results: Both the groups showed significantly reduced-blood pressure after 6months of treatment, and the intergroup differencewas not significant. The mean baseline Mini-Mental State Examination scores of the VAL and AML groups were not significantly different. Amlodipine treatment did not significantly affect any test score, but VAL treatment significantly increased the word-list memory and word-list recall test scores. Valsartan, and not AML, significantly reduced themean P300 latency after 6 months.Conclusions: These results suggest that VAL exerts a positive effect on cognitive functions, independent of its antihypertensive effect.