Acarbose increases atrial natriuretic peptide levels in subjects with metabolic syndrome: A novel mechanism of cardiovascular protection

Background: Acarbose unexpectedly reduced blood pressure and especially new cases of hypertension in the STOP NIDDM study. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a cardiac hormone that protects cardiovascular integrity through direct vascular relaxation, antagonism of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, renal salt elimination, anti-proliferative and anti-fibrotic effects. Subjects with metabolic syndrome have decreased levels of MR-proANP53–90 for unknown reasons. Insulin decreased circulating ANP levels in humans in our previous studies. We thus hypothesized that acarbose may modulate ANP levels via regulati…