Muzolimine in patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD)

The importance of the urine volume and the residual functional capacity of the kidneys has been emphasized by several authors in connection with preservation of the quality of life of patients having to undergo chronic dialysis therapy. Since it has been found that muzolimine can increase diuresis even in patients with extremely high uraemia (GFR values less than 5 ml/min), a group of 16 patients (10 haemodialysis patients, HD, and 6 peritoneal dialysis patients, CAPD) was treated daily with 90 mg for a period of one year, commencing with the start of dialysis therapy. The aim of the study was to monitor the diuresis and to evaluate any changes in the quality of life. The latter were assessed on the basis of clinical criteria by the scheme of Ravid et al. The results were compared with the results obtained from another group of 16 patients (10 HD and 6 CAPD) who had likewise been on dialysis for a year but without receiving diuretic therapy. The two groups were homogeneous in age, sex, aetiology of the kidney disease, and renal function. Even though diuresis, like the residual renal function, normally deteriorates in the course of time owing to the underlying kidney disease, the administration of muzolimine showed that the compound is able to induce statistically significantly higher diuresis in the treated patients in the first year of dialysis compared with the untreated patients. In addition it was possible to preserve the residual kidney function established at the start of the dialysis therapy, which corresponds to a significantly improved quality of life.