[Treatment of latent diabetic nephropathy with ACE inhibitor alacepril]

Latent diabetic nephropathy with no complication such as retinopaty and hypertension was treated with Alacepril, an ACE inhibitor. This study enrolled 10 patients with microalbuminuria ranging from 5 mg/day (5 mg/gCr) to 50 mg/day (30 mg/gCr). Histological changes due to diabetic nephropathy were confirmed by renal biopsy performed in 4 of 10 patients. All the patients were divided into 2 groups; 5 patients were given 25 mg of Alacepril for 6 months and the remaining 5 patients were employed as the control. As the results, the mean blood pressure was decreased from 92.7 +/- 9.0 mmHg to 87.3 +/- 11.3 mmHg in Alacepril group but these changes were not statistically significant. Microalbuminuria were significantly decreased from 17.33 +/- 7.82 mg/gCr to 10.43 +/- 4.14 mg/gCr during 6 months in the Alacepril group while in the control group, no significant changes were observed in blood pressure and microalbuminuria. Creatinine clearances were not significantly changed in both groups. These findings suggest that Alacepril is useful in improving microalbuminuria of latent diabetic nephropathy.