Losartan improves diastolic ventricular filling of hypertensive patients with diastolic dysfunction.

To evaluate the role of losartan on left ventricular (LV) function of hypertensive patients. Hypertensive patients (n = 19) underwent evaluation of systolic and diastolic LV function, using radionuclide ventriculography (RVG), before and at 3 mo into the treatment with the angiotensin II antagonist losartan. All patients underwent a baseline 12 lead ECG and an echocardiogram (ECHO), which was also repeated at 3 mo into treatment. Results are expressed as mean +/- SEM and statistics were performed using paired t-test. A p value < or = 0.05 was considered significant. Treatment with losartan for 3 mo had no effect on LV mass measured by echo (141+/-5 vs. 139+/-6 g/m2). The LV ejection fraction, measured by RVG, was unchanged by treatment when compared to the baseline study (58+/-2% vs. 57+/-2%, respectivelly, p = 0.49). Considering all patients involved in the study (n = 19), the LV "Peak Filling Rate" (PFR), a parameter of diastolic function measured by RVG, was also unchanged by treatment when compared to baseline (2.5+/-0.2 EDV/s vs. 2.5+/-0.3 EDV/s, respectively, p = 0.9). However the analysis of those patients with evidence of diastolic dysfunction (n = 12) on the baseline RVG (PFR < 2.5 EVD/s), demonstrated significant improvement of LV filling after therapy with losartan (PFR = 1.8+/-0.1 EDV/s vs. 2.3 +/-0.2 EDV/s, respectively, p = 0.05). This change was associated with improvement of symptoms. Our results demonstrated that hypertensive patients with diastolic dysfunction on radionuclide ventriculography have significant improvement of ventricular filling at 3 mo into treatment with losartan.

[Duration and age range of epilepsy and its correlation with work: prospective ambulatory study in 379 epileptics]. / Duração e faixa etária da epilepsia e suas correlações com trabalho: estudo prospectivo ambulatorial em 379 epilépticos.

This study aims to evaluate, prospectively, the relationship of the active epilepsy length and the work, of the 379 out-patients from Hospital de Base, São José do Rio Preto. Epilepsy length was subdivided into 5 time rates and by age, into 3 age-groups. There was no relationship, not considering the age of patient among the epilepsy length and the work, but young patient (14 at 29 years old) and with recent epilepsy (length of 0 at 5 years) lost more work than the adult and elderly epileptic.