[A megatrial of ARB in Japan--CASE-J]

Guidelines for antihypertensive therapy by World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension(WHO/ISH) and the Joint National Committee(JNC) have been widely accepted by doctors in the world. In Japan, those for Japanese patients(JSH2000) were prepared last year by Japanese Society of Hypertension considering the difference in the drug metabolism, life style, frequencies of complications, etc. in the elderly. Although angiotensin II receptor antagonists are recommended as one of the first line treatment in JSH2000, no large-scale studies have been conducted in Japan. Therefore, CASE-J study has been designed in order to examine the efficacy of Candesartan Cilexetil, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, comparing with that of amlodipine besilate, a calcium antagonist, in high-risk hypertensive patients using the incidence of cardiovascular events as an endpoint. The study was started in September 2001 and 4,000 patients will be recruited by December 2002. The results are expected to be presented at the meeting of International Hypertensive Society held in Fukuoka in 2006.