The thiazides are sulfonamides and share cross-reactivity with other members of this chemical group. Photosensitivity or generalized dermatitis occurs rarely. Serious allergic reactions are extremely rare but do include hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute necrotizing pancreatitis.
G. Other Toxicities
Weakness, fatigability, and paresthesias similar to those of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors may occur. Impotence has been reported but is probably related to volume depletion. Cases of acute angle-closure glaucoma from hyponatremia caused by thiazide diuretics have been reported.
Excessive use of any diuretic is dangerous in patients with hepatic cirrhosis, borderline renal failure, or heart failure (see text that follows).
Potassium-sparing diuretics prevent K+ secretion by antagonizing the effects of aldosterone in collecting tubules. Inhibition may occur by direct pharmacologic antagonism of mineralocorticoid receptors (spironolactone, eplerenone) or by inhibition of Na+ influx through ion channels in the luminal membrane (amiloride, triamterene). Finally, ularitide (recombinant urodilatin), which is currently still under investigation, blunts Na+ uptake and Na+/K+-ATPase in collecting tubules and increases GFR through its vascular effects. Nesiritide, which is available for intravenous use only, increases GFR and blunts Na+ reabsorption in both proximal and collecting tubules.
The structures of spironolactone and amiloride are shown in Figure 15–9.
Spironolactone is a synthetic steroid that acts as a competitive antagonist to aldosterone. Onset and duration of its action are determined substantially by the active metabolites canrenone and 7-α-spirolactone, which are produced in the liver and have
FIGURE 15–9 Potassium-sparing diuretics.
long half-lives (12–20 and approximately 14 hours, respectively). Spironolactone binds with high affinity and potently inhibits the androgen receptor, which is an important source of side effects in males (notably, gynecomastia and decreased libido). Eplerenone is a spironolactone analog with much greater selectivity for the mineralocorticoid receptor. It is several hundredfold less active on androgen and progesterone receptors than spironolactone, and therefore, eplerenone has considerably fewer adverse effects (eg, gynecomastia). Finerenone is a new investigational agent in this class. It is a nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid antagonist that reduces nuclear accumulation of mineralocorticoid receptors more efficiently than spironolactone. Like eplerenone, it binds less avidly to the androgen and progesterone receptors. Finerenone accumulates similarly in the heart and the kidneys, whereas eplerenone has three times higher drug concentration in the kidney than the heart and spironolactone is even more preferentially concentrated in the kidneys. Because of this effect, finerenone may prove to be useful for cardioprotection. Finerenone results in less hyperkalemia than spironolactone or eplerenone for poorly understood reasons but possibly from its decreased tendency to accumulate in the kidneys. It also does not have as great a blood pressure-lowering effect as spironolactone or eplerenone. DSR-71167 is an investigational agent in this class that is believed to have carbonic anhydrase inhibitory activity in addition to antimineralocorticoid activity and is thus less likely to cause hyperkalemia.