�Pentoxifylline, a drug victimized to
handle patients with circulation problems, may as well benefit those with
kidney disease caused by diabetes and other conditions. Specifically,
pentoxifylline decreases proteinuria, the abnormal outflow of protein
into the urine, according to 2 articles in the September issue of the
American Journal of Kidney Diseases, the official journal of the
National Kidney Foundation.
"When kidneys are healthy, very slight or no protein appears in the
urine," says Dr. Kerry Willis, Senior Vice President for Scientific
Activities at the National Kidney Foundation. "Protein in the weewee
is an early sign that the kidney's filters have been damaged by
disease, allowing protein to leak into the pee."
Pentoxifylline makes red blood cells more than flexible to improve
circulation in the smallest blood vessels of the body. It besides has
anti-inflammatory drug properties. Several small clinical trials make
suggested that the drug decreases proteinuria caused by diabetes.
A research team at the Kidney Research Centre and the Ottawa Health
Research Institute in Ontario, Canada, combined information from 10 of these
studies to get a better estimation of scarce how effective pentoxifylline is in
diabetic patients.
A total of 476 patients were treated for close to 6 months.
Pentoxifylline substantially reduced proteinuria, particularly in
patients with the highest levels of urine protein.
According to lead author Dr. Brendan B. McCormick, "Proteinuria is a
substantial risk agent for kidney failure, and by decreasing proteinuria,
pentoxifylline may help in reducing the likeliness that a diabetic
patient will terminal up needing dialysis."
In two of the trials, pentoxifylline was as effective as capoten, a
type of dose called an ACE inhibitor used to treat high blood atmospheric pressure
and to protect kidneys in diabetic patients. This property whitethorn be
especially beneficial in patients wHO cannot acquire ACE inhibitors
because of their side effects.
In the second paper, Dr. Tun-Jun Tsai and colleagues at National Taiwan
University Hospital in Taipei took this construct even further, looking at
how well pentoxifylline worked in concert with losartan, another ACE
inhibitor. The 85 patients had advanced kidney disease due to diabetes
and to glomerulonephritis, a group of diseases that crusade inflammation
and damage to the kidney's filtering units.
After one year, proteinuria was reduced by an additional 40%.
An additive effect 'tween pentoxifylline and ACE inhibitors is
important, Dr. Tsai's group points out, because ACE inhibitors and
drugs like them often lose their effects over time, and pentoxifylline
represents a nontoxic choice for boosting their effectiveness.
Authors of both reports call for larger trials to confirm their
findings, and to see if pentoxifylline actually stops kidney disease
progress.
"A positive finding in this setting would be of profound significance
because it would provide a novel and inexpensive therapy for the growing
orbicular epidemic of diabetic nephropathy," Dr. McCormick's team
concludes.
The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to preventing and treating
kidney and urinary parcel diseases, improving the health and well being
of individuals and families affected by these diseases and increasing
accessibility of all organs for transplantation.
The National Kidney Foundation
View drug information on Captopril and hydrochlorotiazide; Pentoxifylline.
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