Two-Drug Combo Reduces Diabetic Kidney Damage

nlm.nih.gov — WEDNESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- A combination of two drugs used to combat some of the damaging effects of type 2 diabetes may also reduce the risk of diabetic kidney failure, a new Danish study has found. But the researchers warn that testing the combination of losartan (Cozaar) and aliskiren (Tekturna) to block the activity of a molecule that damages renal arteries is still in the early stages. Losartan is often prescribed for high blood pressure in diabetes. Aliskiren blocks the pathways that allow the vessel-damaging molecule -- angiotensin II -- to grow and expand. The study, published in the June 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, used 599 people with type 2 diabetes, the kind that generally develops in adults. In the six-month trial, half took losartan and aliskiren, while the others took losartan and a placebo. The double-dose treatment reduced the amount of protein in the urine by 50 percent or more in 24.7 percent of participants, compared to 12.5 percent of those who got the placebo.

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