Rolofylline (KW-3902) is an experimental

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...

which acts as a selective

adenosine A1 receptor The adenosine A1 receptor is one member of the adenosine receptor group of G protein-coupled receptors with adenosine as endogenous ligand. Biochemistry A1 receptors are implicated in sleep promotion by inhibiting wake-promoting cholinergic neur ...

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

. It was discovered at NovaCardia, Inc. which was purchased by Merck & Co., Inc. in 2007.

Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

of rolofylline was terminated on September 1, 2009, after the results of a large

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

(PROTECT) showed the drug to be no better than

placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

for patients with acute heart failure. Participants given rolofylline did show some improvement in

shortness of breath Shortness of breath (SOB), also medically known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing disc ...

, but the drug did not prevent kidney damage or have any significant effect on overall treatment success. Rolofylline was also associated with a higher incidence of

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

s and

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

References

Adenosine receptor antagonists Diuretics Xanthines {{cardiovascular-drug-stub