Effects of Bopindolol on Renal Function

Summary: The effect of the long-acting β-blocking agent bopindolol on renal function was assessed in 10 healthy normotensive volunteers and 10 hypertensive patients. The subjects received 1 mg bopindolol at 8 p.m. for 21 days. The following determinations were made at 8 a.m. on recumbent, fasting subjects before day 0 (D0) and 12 h after day 1 (D1) the first dose of bopindolol, and on the 21st day of treatment (D21): blood pressure (diastolic = DBP), glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal plasma flow (RPF) as reflected by the plasma disappearance of 51Cr-EDTA and 125I-hippuran, plasma concentrations and 2- and 24-h urinary excretion of electrolytes, creatinine, and proteins and osmolality of the urine. Plasma renin activity was assessed on standing subjects. Following bopindolol administration GFR, RPF, and filtration fraction remained stable, in spite of a fall of DBP from 80 ± 7 to 76 ± 4 and to 72 ± 9 mm Hg in normotensives (p