Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT41

Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy is the main cause leading to end-stage renal disease. Uric acid may play a role as the underlying cause of diabetic nephropathy. The serum level of uric acid is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. It’s a complex interplay among hyperuricemia, diabetes melitus and the progression of diabetic nephropathy. Our aim is to evaluate allopurinol effects on proteinuria in diabetic patients with nephropathy.

Material and methods.: 80 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and incipient diabetic nephropathy were included. 40 patients were randomized to receive allopurinol (100 mg/d) and 40 were randomized to receive placebo. Administration of antihypertensive and renoprotective drugs (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers) continued for both groups, without changes in dosage. Proteinuria was compared at baseline, 2 and 4 months among the two groups.

Results: Each group consisted of 19 men and 21 women. After four months of treatment, serum levels of uric acid (P = .02) and 24-hour urine protein (P = .049) were significantly lower in the patients on allopurinol treatment, compared with the control group.

Conclusions: Treatment with hyperuricemia can reduce severity of proteinuria. So, it’s important to use them as an adjuvants cost-effective therapy for patients with diabetic nephropathy.