Telmisartan has antioxidative effects in healthy dogs.

Telmisartan demonstrates significant antioxidative effects in healthy dogs, suggesting broader utility in inflammatory conditions.

This prospective experimental study evaluated the immunomodulatory and antioxidative properties of telmisartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), in healthy dogs. Eight purpose-bred Beagles received telmisartan at 10 mg orally once daily for 28 days. Weekly assessments included complete blood count, serum cytokine/chemokine panels, and multiple antioxidant assays: total antioxidant capacity (TAC), Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare post-treatment values to baseline. No significant changes were observed in arterial blood pressure, CBC parameters, or cytokine/chemokine concentrations. However, telmisartan significantly upregulated serum SOD activity, serum TAC, and plasma GPx activity on select sampling days throughout the 28-day study period. A clinically notable finding was mild but consistent weight loss averaging 4.9% in 7 of 8 dogs between days 0 and 28, which warrants further investigation. These findings suggest telmisartan exerts antioxidative effects independent of its primary antihypertensive mechanism, potentially through modulation of reactive oxygen species pathways. The authors propose that telmisartan may have expanded clinical utility beyond hypertension management, particularly in inflammatory conditions where oxidative stress plays a pathogenic role, such as chronic kidney disease or protein-losing nephropathy. Limitations include small sample size, lack of a control group, and short study duration. Larger controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and define optimal dosing strategies.

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