UPDATE: Nebivolol Lowers Blood Pressure in African Americans With Stage I-II Hypertension as Demonstrated in a Study Published in the Journal of Clinical Hy...( NEW YORK Nov. 1 /- Forest Laborat...),Health

NEW YORK, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) today announced the results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, published in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Hypertension, which demonstrated that nebivolol significantly reduced sitting diastolic and systolic blood pressure used as monotherapy among African-American patients with stage I-II hypertension. The study also found that nebivolol was well tolerated in comparison to placebo, with a low incidence of traditional beta blocker side effects, such as fatigue, sexual dysfunction, and depression. In addition, nebivolol was not associated with adverse changes in blood lipids and glucose levels. Nebivolol, a novel beta blocker, is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of hypertension.

African Americans have an increased prevalence of high blood pressure, develop elevated blood pressure earlier in life, and have higher rates of hypertension-related death from stroke, heart disease, and end-stage kidney disease. Although awareness of hypertension in African Americans has increased in recent years, their control rates (blood pressure <140/90 mm/Hg) remain low at approximately 30 percent.

"The findings of this study are important considering the excessive burden of high blood pressure in African Americans and the need for new treatment options," explains Elijah Saunders, MD, lead investigator of the study and professor of medicine and Head, Section of Hypertension at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Advances like this in the beta blocker class are particularly important because African Americans have an historically poor resp
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