Table 1.
Patient Baseline Characteristics
| Placebo First (AB) (n = 22) |
L-Citrulline First (BA) (n = 23) |
H4Bip (n = 25a) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||
| Male | 16 (72.7) | 20 (87) | 18 (72) |
| Female | 6 (27.2) | 3 (13) | 7 (28) |
| Age, y | 70.1 ± 1.9 | 67.2 ± 1.8; P < 0.001 | 67.6 ± 11.7 |
| Body weight, kg | 84.5 ± 12.1 | 91.5 ± 20.9 | 93 ± 17.8 |
| Waist-to-hip ratio | 0.99 ± 0.08 | 1.0 ± 0.08 | 0.97 ± 0.08 |
| Smoking | |||
| Current smoker | 4 (18.2) | 7 (30.4) | 7 (28) |
| Exsmoker | 14 (63.6) | 13 (56.5) | 14 (56) |
| Nonsmoker | 4 (18.2) | 3 (13) | 4 (16) |
| Blood pressure, mm Hg | |||
| Systolic | 142.6 ± 21.8 | 137.6 ± 17.8 | 143.8 ± 21.2 |
| Diastolic | 75.8 ± 11.1 | 77.2 ± 11.4 | 73.2 ± 10.7 |
| MAPb | 98.1 ± 11.3 | 97.3 ± 11.0 | 96.7 ± 11.4 |
| Clinical conditions | |||
| Hypertensionf | 12 (54.5) | 19 (82.6) | 17 (68) |
| Hypercholesterolemiac | 17 (77.3) | 13 (56.5) | 13 (52) |
| CVD other than PAD | 12 (54.5) | 9 (39.1) | 10 (40) |
| Ischemic heart disease | 4 (18.2) | 8 (34.8) | 9 (36) |
| Type 2 diabetes | 7 (31.8) | 8 (34.8) | 10 (40) |
| Blood levels | |||
| Fasting glucose, mmol/L | 7.0 ± 3.5 | 6.3 ± 2 | 6.7 ± 2.7 |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/L | 4.7 ± 1.3 | 4.2 ± 0.9 | 4.3 ± 1.1 |
| Triglycerides, mmol/L | 1.5 ± 0.7 | 1.8 ± 0.7 | 1.6 ± 0.8 |
| LDL, mmol/L | 2.9 ± 1.2 | 2.3 ± 0.8 | 2.5 ± 1.1 |
| Creatinine, μmol/L | 104.8 ± 42.6 | 89.3 ± 23.7 | 93.7 ± 38.8 |
| Urea, mmol/L | 7.8 ± 3.5 | 6.4 ± 2.5 | 7.1 ± 2.7 |
| Albumin, g/L | 42.0 ± 2.4 | 42.3 ± 3.2 | 41.5 ± 2.3 |
| eGFRd, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 67.6 ± 25.9 | 77.6 ± 21.5 | 75.7 ± 25.0 |
| ACDg, m | 207 ± 28.4 | 231 ± 25.5; P = 0.003 | 291 ± 24.3 |
| Vascular testing | |||
| Resting ABIe | 0.75 ± 0.16 | 0.79 ± 0.16 | 0.79 ± 0.16 |
| Postexercise ABIe | 0.58 ± 0.2 | 0.66 ± 0.26 | 0.72 ± 0.22 |
Values are mean ± SEM. P values are only provided if a significant difference between sequence was detected. Data were missing for the following characteristics: ABI (for 1 patient in both sequence AB and BA), creatinine, and eGFR (for 1 patient in sequence BA). Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding.
ABI = ankle-brachial index; CKD-EPI = Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration; CVD = cardiovascular disease; eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate; H4Bip = tetrahydrobiopterin; LDL = low-density lipoprotein; MAP = mean arterial pressure; PAD = peripheral artery disease.
Refers to patients in the Melbourne cohort that received H4Bip as a third intervention.
Calculated by doubling the diastolic blood pressure and adding the sum to the systolic blood pressure, then dividing by 3.
Defined as LDL at or above 4.1 mmol/L and total cholesterol at or above 6.2 mmol/L.
Calculated using the CKD-EPI equation with reference ranges of 59 to 104 and 45 to 84 mL/min/1.73 m2 for males and females, respectively.
Normal ABI defined as between 0.9 and 1.25; <0.9, claudication; <0.5 = rest pain or critical limb ischemia. If no pulse was detectable at rest, then postexercise ABI was not considered.
Defined as a blood pressure at or above 140/90 mm Hg.
Regarding gender-dependent differences, ACD at baseline was 195 ± 20.5 m and 227 ± 55.6 m in males and females, respectively (P = 0.603).