P107 THE EFFECT OF MELDONIUM ON THE ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION ASSESSED BY PLASMA ENDOCAN LEVEL IN PATIENTS WITH ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION

Background and Objective: Endothelial dysfunction is one of the main findings in patients with arterial hypertension. It is associated with atherosclerosis initiation and progression. Lately, a soluble dermatan sulfate proteoglycan Endocan is used as a marker of endothelial dysfunction in patients with big variety of diseases. Hence, aim of our study was to assess effect of competitive inhibitor of carnitine-dependent fatty acid oxidation and promoter of anaerobic oxidation via the glycolytic pathway, Meldonium, on endothelial function in patients with arterial hypertension. Methods: 30 nonsmoker, non-obese male patients with stage II hypertension (ESH/ESC 2018) were involved in a study. 15 patients were put on recommended antihypertensive treatment plan and other 15 patients on conventional plus Meldoneum 1000 mg per day treatment for 3 months. Endocan level was tested before and after 3 months of treatment period. Hypertension was diagnosed as an average office blood pressure of three different visits equal or more than 140/90 mmHg. Written informed consent letters were obtained from all the participants. Results: Mean age and average blood pressure of study groups were not different between conventional and conventional plus Meldonium groups (48.6±6.94 vs 51.53±7.22 years old and 148/94 vs 151/95; P= NS for both). Initial plasma endocan level also was similar between the two groups (1.920±0.625 for Meldonium and 1.854±0.391 for conventional treatment; P=NS). In comparison with initial level, plasma endocan level significantly decreased after 3 months of treatment with conventional plus Meldonium treatment (1.920±0.625 vs 1.344±0.041; P<0.05). Statistically significant difference of endocan level change after 3 month of treatment with conventional antihypertensive agents was not observed (1.854±0.391 vs 1.75±0.649; P=NS). Conclusion: Obtained results indicate, that 1 g/day Meldonium on top of conventional guideline recommended antihypertensive regimen significantly improves endothelial function assessed via plasma endocan level. Further studies are needed to confirm these results on a bigger population samples.