[Role of angiotensin II receptor antagonists in the treatment of metabolic syndrome].
The metabolic syndrome, defined as the association of abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension, is a very prevalent disorder. Moreover, it identifies patients with a high cardiovascular risk, and when diagnosed, life style modifications and/or drug therapy can be initiated in these patients with the aim to reduce their cardiovascular risk. In the last few years, there has been much interest on drugs that lower insulin resistance, a central component of the metabolic syndrome as well as drugs that interrupt the renin-angiotensin system (achieved by angiotensive converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers), due to their beneficial metabolic effects. Of special interest are the so-called selective PPARg modulators, such as telmisartan or the nTZDpa compound. In the future, they may show important benefits in the treatment of patients with the metabolic syndrome.