Efonta

Efonta Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Food Interaction and all others data.

Efonta is a calcium channel blocker of the dihydropyridine class, commercialized by Shionogi & Co. (Japan). Initially, it was marketed in 1995 under the trade name, Landel. The drug has been shown to block T-type in addition to L-type calcium channels . It has also been studied in atherosclerosis and acute renal failure . This drug is also known as NZ-105, and several studies have been done on its pharmacokinetics in animals .

Dihydropyridines (DHPs), act mainly on L-type calcium channels, essentially causing reflex tachycardia, which negatively affects cardiac function. This leads to a decrease in blood pressure and an increase in heart rate. Efonta acts on both L-type and T-type calcium channels. Because inhibition of T-type calcium channels in the sinoatrial (SA node) node attenuate reflex tachycardia, this drug favorably affects cardiac pacing. The effect of efonidipine on heart rate deserves special recognition with regard to reflex tachycardia, due to its unique effects in relation to other drugs in its class .

Efonta
Uses
Dosage
Side Effect
Precautions
Interactions
Uses during Pregnancy
Uses during Breastfeeding
Accute Overdose
Food Interaction
Half Life
Volume of Distribution
Clearance
Interaction With other Medicine
Contradiction
Storage

Trade Name	Efonta
Generic	Efonidipine
Efonidipine Other Names	Efonidipine
Weight	20mg, 40mg, 10mg
Type	Tablet
Formula	C₃₄H₃₈N₃O₇P
Weight	Average: 631.666 Monoisotopic: 631.244737574
Groups	Experimental
Therapeutic Class
Manufacturer	Ajanta Pharma Ltd
Available Country	India
Last Updated:	September 19, 2023 at 7:00 am

Uses

For the treatment of hypertension.

How Efonta works

This drug inhibits the L-type and T-type calcium channels, thereby leading to vasodilation and decreased automaticity of the heart. Efonta exerts negative chronotropic effects, decreasing heart rate. Acting on SA node cells by inhibiting T-type calcium channel activity, Efonta prolongs the late phase-4 depolarization of the sinoatrial node action potential, decreasing heart rate. This is associated with decreased myocardial oxygen demand and increases of blood flow to the coronary arteries and thereby attenuates myocardial ischemia. Efonta increases glomerular filtration rate (GFR) without increasing intra-glomerular pressure and filtration fraction . This increase leads to the prevention of renal damage that is normally associated with hypertension.

Efonta increases the rate of renal sodium excretion via the suppression of aldosterone synthesis and aldosterone secretion from the adrenal glands. Aldosterone-induced renal parenchymal fibrosis is said to be suppressed by efonidipine .

L-type calcium channel blockers, such as efonidipine, preferentially dilate afferent arterioles in the kidney, whereas both L-/T-type and L-/N-type calcium channel blockers potently dilate both afferent and efferent arterioles. The distinct actions of calcium channel blockers on the renal microcirculation are demonstrated by changes in glomerular capillary pressure and subsequent renal injury: L-type calcium channel blockers favor an increase in glomerular capillary pressure, whereas L-/T-type and L-/N-type CCBs alleviate glomerular hypertension. This supports the theory that L-Type/T-type calcium channel blockers may be of benefit in renal hypertension . Efonta is a long-acting medication due to a low dissociation constant .

Recent studies suggest that efonidipine reduces plasma aldosterone levels in patients on regular hemodialysis, which is of additional benefit to the cardiovascular protection by antihypertensive therapy with efonidipine in patients with end-stage renal disease .

Toxicity

Ld50: >5 g/kg in rats, orally . Some common adverse effects include hot flashes, flushing of the face, and headache. Elevation in serum total cholesterol, ALT (SGPT), AST (SGOT) and BUN may also occur. Frequent urination, pedal edema, increased triglycerides have been found to occur in less than 0.1% of patients .

Elimination Route

The metabolism of efonidipine was studied in rats. The absorption ratio of radioactivity estimated from the sum of biliary and urinary excretions was found to be approximately 62% . The radioactivity was high in the gastrointestinal tract and liver, followed by the adrenal glands , suggesting high rates of metabolism in these regions.

The unchanged drug in the plasma accounted for 47.7% of radioactivity at 2hr after ingestion, demonstrating a lower first-pass effect in comparison with other drugs in the same class. In plasma, major metabolites of NZ-105 were: N-debenzylated compound (DBZ), N-dephenylated compound (DPH), oxidative deaminated compound (AL), AL-corresponding pyridine compound (ALP), unknown metabolite M-1 and M-25. NZ-105 was metabolized by N-debenzylation, N-dephenylation, oxidative deamination, ester hydrolysis and oxidation of 1, 4-dihydropyridine ring to its corresponding pyridine .