Drug may boost diabetes care
Thursday November 4th, 2010
A protein used to test people with diabetes for risk of kidney and heart disease may hold clues to preventing problems, researchers said last night.
A Dutch research team says lowering levels of the protein, albuminuria, may be of "extreme importance" in combating the two deadly side effects of diabetes.
A drug called paricalcitol, used for chronic renal failure, can successfully be used to reduce protein levels, according to the report in The Lancet.
The treatment was tested on patients who had suffered some kidney damage caused by diabetes and were stable on treatment with ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers.
Researchers say the treatment can help people who are having trouble reducing their consumption of salt, an especial problem for people with diabetes who are limited in what they can eat.
Some 281 patients took part in the research at the University Medical Centre Groningen, Netherlands. Some received the drug and others received placebo treatment.
Researcher Professor Dick de Zeeuw the drug seemed to be successful in reducing albuminuria levels.
The researchers write: "We have shown that 24 weeks' treatment with 2 µg paricalcitol daily reduced residual albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy who were on stable doses of ACE inhibitors or ARBs, particularly in those with high dietary sodium intake.
"Existing drug strategies have substantial limitations and have not been successful so far. However, paricalcitol could be an important adjunctive treatment."
Writing in the same journal Dr Merlin Thomas and Dr Mark Cooper, of the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia, call for larger studies to see whether the treatment can reduce death rates and heart disease.
They write: "Long-term and larger clinical trials in patients with diabetes should now test whether these analogues can ultimately improve mortality and cardiovascular outcomes, as suggested in studies of patients with end-stage renal disease."
Tags: Diabetes | Europe | Heart Health | Internal Medicine
Printer friendly page