The Carvedilol or Metoprolol European Trial (COMET; Lancet 2003; 362:7-13) found that in patients with heart failure, survival appears to be better with carvedilol than with immediate-release metoprolol tartrate. Whether the target doses used were equivalent (carvedilol 25 mg twice daily vs metoprolol tartrate 50 mg twice daily) has been debated, but the COMET trial shows that drugs in the same...

− This study was designed to investigate the effects of silibinin on the pharmacokinetics of carvedilol after oral administration of carvedilol in rats. Carvedilol was administered orally (3 mg/kg) with oral silibinin (0.3, 1.5 or 6 mg/ kg) and intravenously (1 mg/kg) to rats. The effects of silibinin on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 and CYP2D6 activity were also evaluated...

The protective effects of carvedilol, a new beta-adrenergic receptor blocker and vasodilating antihypertensive agent, against oxygen free radical-mediated injury were studied in cultured bovine endothelial cells and compared with five other beta-blockers. Carvedilol dose-dependently inhibited oxygen radical-induced lipid peroxidation (50% inhibition at 2.6 mumol/L) and glutathione depletion (50...

BACKGROUND In muscular dystrophy, cardiac function deteriorates with time and heart failure is one of the major causes of death. Although the combination of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and beta-blockers improves cardiac function in adults, little is known about the efficacy of those drugs in patients with muscular dystrophy. METHODS AND RESULTS The effect of the beta-block...

It has been shown that oxidative stress may play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis, and carvedilol has the capacity of reducing oxidative stress. Accordingly, we assessed the hypothesis that carvedilol may reduce the severity of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E (apoE)-deficient mice in addition to its hemodynamic effects. Atherosclerosis was induced in apoE-deficient mi...

Background Carvedilol is used in the management of hypertension, ischemic heart disease, heart failure and most recently, portal hypertension. It has been associated with improved outcomes regarding variceal bleeding, hepatic decompensation and death when compared to propranolol and endoscopic band ligation. The main cause of portal hypertension is cirrhosis and therefore carvedilol is increasi...

Anthracyclines, most powerful anticancer agents, suffer from their cardiotoxic effects, which may be due to the induction of oxidative stress. Carvedilol, a third-generation, nonselective β-adrenoreceptor antagonist, possesses both reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and ROS suppressive effects. It showed protective effects against daunorubicin- (DNR-) induced cardiac toxicity by reducing ...

We performed a study to examine the clinical use of carvedilol, its dosage and its effects on systolic functions in children. Twenty-one patients with dilated cardiomyopathy who were treated with carvedilol adjacent to standard heart failure therapy were enrolled in the study. Echocardiographic assessment was obtained before and during carvedilol therapy, and left ventricular fractional shorten...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether patients with congestive heart failure on different beta adrenoreceptor blocking drugs have similar haemodynamic responses to dobutamine. DESIGN Single centre, single blind, randomised, two period crossover study comparing carvedilol with metoprolol CR/XL. PATIENTS Ten patients with stable chronic congestive heart failure (ejection fraction < 40%) on chronic t...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Intradialytic hypertension may be caused by an impaired endothelial cell response to hemodialysis. Carvedilol has been shown to improve endothelial cell function in vivo and to block endothelin-1 release in vitro. This study hypothesized that carvedilol would improve endothelial cell function and reduce the occurrence of intradialytic hypertension. DESIGN, SETTING, P...