Cilnidipine is a

calcium channel blocker Calcium channel blockers (CCB), calcium channel antagonists or calcium antagonists are a group of medications that disrupt the movement of calcium () through calcium channels. Calcium channel blockers are used as antihypertensive drugs, i.e., as ...

. Cilnidipine is approved for use in Japan, China, India, Nepal, and Korea for

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

. It is a calcium antagonist accompanied with L-type and N-type calcium channel blocking functions. Unlike other calcium antagonists, cilnidipine can act on the N-type calcium channel in addition to acting on the L-type calcium channel. It was patented in 1984 and approved for medical use in 1995. Cilnidipine is currently being repurposed and developed for use in patients with Raynaud's Phenomenon and Systemic Sclerosis by Aisa Pharma, a US biopharma development company.

Medical uses

Cilnidipine decreases blood pressure and is used to treat hypertension and its

comorbidities In medicine, comorbidity - from Latin morbus ("sickness"), co ("together"), -ity (as if - several sicknesses together) - is the presence of one or more additional conditions often co-occurring (that is, concomitant or concurrent) with a primary ...

. Due to its blocking action at the N-type and L-type calcium channel, cilnidipine dilates both

arteriole An arteriole is a small-diameter blood vessel in the microcirculation that extends and branches out from an artery and leads to capillaries. Arterioles have muscular walls (usually only one to two layers of smooth muscle cells) and are the primar ...

s and

venule A venule is a very small blood vessel in the microcirculation that allows blood to return from the capillary beds to drain into the larger blood vessels, the veins. Venules range from 7μm to 1mm in diameter. Veins contain approximately 70% of t ...

s, reducing the pressure in the capillary bed. Cilnidipine is vasoselective and has a weak direct dromotropic effect, a strong vasodepressor effect, and an arrhythmia-inhibiting effect. Blood pressure control with cilnidipine treatment in Japanese post-stroke hypertensive patients he CA-ATTEND study- the results of a large-scale prospective post-marketing surveillance study of post-stroke hypertensive patients (n = 2667, male 60.4%, 69.0 ± 10.9 years) treated with cilnidipine indicate that cilnidipine was effective in treating uncontrolled blood pressure and was well tolerated in post-stroke hypertensive patients. The Ambulatory Blood Pressure Control and Home Blood Pressure (Morning and Evening) Lowering By N-Channel Blocker Cilnidipine (ACHIEVE-ONE) trial is a large-scale (n=2319) clinical study on blood pressure (BP) and pulse rate (PR) in the real world with use of cilnidipine - this study revealed that Cilnidipine significantly reduced BP and PR in hypertensive patients at the clinic and at home, especially with higher BP and PR in the morning. Cilnidipine is currently being studied in the RECONNOITER study in Australia for its effect on Raynaud's and other manifestations of disease in patients with Systemic Sclerosis.

Side effects

The side effects could be severe dizziness, fast heartbeat, and swelling of face, lips, tongue, eyelids, hands and feet. Lesser side effects include stomach pain, diarrhea and hypotension.

Peripheral edema Peripheral edema is edema (accumulation of fluid causing swelling) in tissues perfused by the peripheral vascular system, usually in the lower limbs. In the most dependent parts of the body (those hanging distally), it may be called dependent edem ...

, a common side effect from the use of

amlodipine Amlodipine, sold under the brand name Norvasc among others, is a calcium channel blocker medication used to treat high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. It is taken by mouth. Common side effects include swelling, feeling tired, ab ...

, was reduced when patients were shifted to cilnidipine.

Brand Name

In India, it is sold under the brand name Cinod, cilacar, clinblue, among others at doses of 5mg/10mg/20mg.

History

It was jointly developed by

Fuji Viscera Pharmaceutical Company Fuji may refer to: Places China * Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan Japan * Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan * Fuji River * Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture * Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefectu ...

and

Ajinomoto is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, interlayer insulating materials for semiconductor packages for use in personal computers, cooking oils, frozen foods, beverages, sweeteners, amino acids, an ...

, and was approved to enter the market and be used as an

anti-hypertensive Antihypertensives are a class of medication, drugs that are used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). Antihypertensive therapy seeks to prevent the complications of high blood pressure, such as stroke and myocardial infarction. Evidence sug ...

in 1995.

Medical uses

Side effects

Brand Name

History

References

Further reading