User:GiftOfSpiff/Alacepril

Alacepril
Alacepril falls under the category of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. These medications play a role in managing blood pressure. Alacepril is primarily used to treat hypertension, and in some cases, renovascular hypertension. It's often combined with other medications, particularly other blood pressure lowering classes of medications like thiazide diuretics to maximize its effectiveness.

Mechanism of action
In vivo, when alacepril undergoes deacetylation, it loses a molecule similar to the amino acid phenylalanine which transforms it into captopril. Captopril then provides its blood pressure lowering effect through two way. First, it inhibits the conversion of angiotensin 1, a precursor molecule, to angiotensin II, a vasoconstrictor that narrows blood vessels. Secondly, captopril prevents the breakdown of bradykinin, a vasodilator peptide that naturally relaxes blood vessels.