High renin low blood pressure and its treatment with calcium glycyrrhetinyl-glycinate

Elevated plasma renin activity was found in 6 out of 7 essential hypotensive patients. This was taken to reflect some abnormality in sodium handling, and they were treated with synthetic calcium glycyrrhetinyl-glycinate (G.G.), a water soluble derivative of glycyrrhetinic acid which was derived from licorice. G.G. was administrated in doses of 300 mg to 1200 mg daily for 3 to 9 weeks. Both the systolic (25.8 +/- 10.0 mmHg) and diastolic (19.2 +/- 9.8 mmHg) blood pressure successfully elevated and improvement or resolution of clinical symptoms was noted in 6 patients. Marked suppression in plasma renin activity (2.7 +/- 1.2 ng/ml/hr) and plasma aldosterone concentration (8.1 +/- 3.1 ng/100 ml) with mild reduction in serum potassium concentration (1.0 +/- 0.4 mEq/L) were concomitantly observed. One patient did not respond at all to G.G. Adverse reactions were mild in all but one who had frank edema.