Arterielle Hypertonie

Renal function declines progressively in patients who have diabetic nephropathy, and the decline may be slowed by antihypertensive drugs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether captopril has kidney-protecting properties independent of its effect on blood pressure in diabetic nephropathy. We performed a randomized, controlled trial comparing captopril with placebo in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in whom urinary protein excretion was > or = 500 mg per day and the serum creatinine concentration was or = 1.5 mg per deciliter, creatinine clearance declined at a rate of 23 +/- 25 percent per year in the captopril group and at a rate of 37 +/- 25 percent per year in the placebo group (P = 0.01). Captopril treatment was associated with a 50 percent reduction in the risk of the combined end points of death, dialysis, and transplantation that was independent of the small disparity in blood pressure between the groups. Captopril protects against deterioration in renal function in insulin-dependent diabetic nephropathy and is significantly more effective than blood-pressure control alone.