Glurenorm in diabetic nephropathy: effects on renal function and vascular endothelium

Abstract

Study of the effects of glurenorm, an oral sugar- reducing drug, on renal function and vascular endothelium in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus at different stages of diabetic involvement of the kidneys, including those with chronic renal insufficiency, revealed that glurenorm in therapeutic doses had no nephrotoxic effect; moreover, it maintained the filtration function of the kidneys even in patients with the initial stage of chronic renal insufficiency (with blood serum creatinine of up to 200 mmol/liter. Therapy with glurenorm for 3 and 6 months caused a reliable reduction of the production of thromboxane A, a vasoconstrictor, this probably improving the intrarenal hemodynamics, and exerting an antiproteinuric effect in patients with manifest diabetic nephropathy. At the same time, glurenorm therapy did not appreciably influence the production of factors released by vascular endothelium (prostacyclin and endothelin-1). Hence, a detailed study of renal function and vascular endothelium in patients with type II diabetes demonstrated that administration of glurenorm to patients with manifest renal involvement was not only safe, but even favorably affected the intrarenal hemodynamics and had an antiproteinuric effect.