[Diabetic nephropathy and isolated hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism]

Isolated hypoaldosteronism is found in 75% diabetics where the disease has persisted for 10 or more years. Sporadically it is found in congenital autonomous neuropathy, in acute glomerulonephritis, in gouty kidney, tubulointerstitial nephritis, after transplantation of the kidney, on mytomycin etc. During dynamic testing of the response of plasma renin activity and aldosterone to the administration of furosemide and a vertical position in diabetics a significantly reduced response was recorded as compared with non-diabetic hypertonic subjects. In 18.3% no response was observed (decompensated form of IHH). Diabetic hypertonics behaved like control hypertonics on long-term beta-blocker treatment. In the decompensated form of IHH after administration of drugs interfering with the activity of SNS-RAAS activity (ACEI, spirolactone etc.) a hyperkalaemic crisis may develop which threatens the patient with acidosis, dehydration, myoplegia, muscular spasms, however, in particular with fatal disorders of the cardiac rhythm. A similar effect may be exerted also by blockers of prostaglandin synthetase (non-steroid antirheumatics) and other drugs. The cause of IHH in diabetics is the coincidence of several pathogenic factors: 1. hypersecretion of ANF with hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic hypervolaemia and hyperfiltration already at the onset of DN, 2. early development of autonomous neuropathy of the sympathetic nerve, 3. reduced renin and prostaglandin formation already in the early stages of DN, 4. reduced extrarenal isorenin formation, 5. reduced conversion of prorenin into active renin, 6. reduced reactivity of the zona glomerulosa to AII, hyperkalaemia and ACTH for its functional reconstruction as a result of periodic activation of contraregulative hormones by fluctuations of the blood sugar level in diabetic patients, 7. reduced response of the distal renal tubule to aldosterone because of tubulointerstitial changes. IHH is thus another serious but rarely diagnosed late complication of diabetes which depends only partly on the stage of DN. It must be, however, diagnosed and respected with regard to the selection of drugs for the treatment of arterial hypertension and the syndrome of insulin resistance and the 5H syndrome resp., i.e. the association of hyperinsulinism which compensates insulin resistance with hyperglycaemia (NIDDM), hypertension, hyperlipoproteinaemia and hirsutism in women (so-called Stein-Leventhal syndrome).