ETA and AT1 antagonism in ANCA vasculitis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effects of simultaneous ETA and AT1 receptor antagonism on endothelial function and vascular stiffness in ANCA-associated vasculitis.
IRAS ID
311164
Contact name
Neeraj Dhaun
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
ANCA-associated vasculitis is defined as 'inflammation and damage to the walls of various blood vessels' by Vasculitis UK. This inflammation damages many organs including the heart and kidneys, and impairs the function of the blood vessels. Vasculitis patients also have a very high risk of heart attacks and strokes, called cardiovascular disease.
A chemical called ‘endothelin’, produced by the blood vessels, causes vessels to stiffen and raises blood pressure. Our research group has shown that by blocking the effects of endothelin you reduce vessel stiffness, lower blood pressure and improve vessel function. However, these studies only blocked endothelin for a few hours. Now, we would like to see if it is possible to maintain these benefits by blocking endothelin for longer.
Sparsentan is a tablet that blocks endothelin and lowers blood pressure. We will plan to give this to patients with vasculitis for 6 weeks. To determine if any beneficial effects of sparsentan are due to blood pressure lowering we will give another group of vasculitis patients a tablet called irbesartan which lowers blood pressure but does not block endothelin. We will compare the results between the two groups.
Our research group specialises in performing tests to measure blood pressure, vessel stiffness and blood vessel function. We will perform these tests at the start of the study to get baseline results and repeat them once subjects have taken either sparsentan or irbesartan for 6 weeks.REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
22/WS/0115
Date of REC Opinion
7 Sep 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion