Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0011881 (diabetic nephropathy)
 10,836 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Microalbuminuria (urinary albumin excretion equal to 30-300 mg/24 h) is a reliable indicator of premature cardiovascular mortality in diabetic patients and in the general population. In insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus microalbuminuria is a marker of initial diabetic nephropathy and predicts the evolution toward renal insufficiency. In essential hypertension the clinical and prognostic role of microalbuminuria is more controversial. While it is a recognised marker of cardiovascular complications and a reliable predictor of ischaemic heart disease, its prognostic value on the risk of progressive renal alterations is still uncertain because no prospective studies, taking microalbuminuria as a selection criterion and renal insufficiency as an end point, are available. Blood pressure control with antihypertensive drugs is accompanied by a reduction in urinary albumin excretion. The favourable effects of antihypertensive agents on microalbuminuria appear to be proportional to blood pressure reduction, but angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-II-receptor antagonists show an additional beneficial effect on urinary albumin excretion. Whether the reduction of microalbuminuria obtained through pharmacological intervention has favourable prognostic implications remain to be demonstrated. However, screening for microalbuminuria is a relatively easy and inexpensive procedure and reveals a potentially treatable abnormality. Thus, considering that microalbuminuria identifies hypertensive subjects at higher risk than standard, urinary albumin excretion should be routinely measured in hypertensive patients and, in the presence of microalbuminuria, antihypertensive treatment should be intensified in order to obtain an optimal blood pressure control.
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PMID:Microalbuminuria in essential hypertension. 1198

Angiotensin II receptor antagonists (AAIIs) are the most specific inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. There are two types of angiotensin II (Ang II) receptors, the AT(1) receptor, which is responsible for all the classical physiological properties of Ang II, and the AT(2) receptor, whose function in humans remains unclear. The different AAIIs used in clinical practice vary depending on their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, and, for some of them, depending on their metabolism in vivo into an active metabolite. AAIIs are relatively well tolerated, and, unlike angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), do not induce cough. AAIIs are indicated in mild, moderate and severe essential hypertension, where their efficacy has been proven in many studies. The maximal antihypertensive effect is obtained in a few days or weeks, and is somewhat retarded when compared with ACEIs. Their effect is independent of age and sex, but does depend to a certain extent on ethnic origin, since Afro-American patients are less sensitive to AAIIs than Caucasians. In general, the antihypertensive and haemodynamic response to blockers of the renin-angiotensin system is potentiated in presence of a negative salt balance and attenuated in case of a positive salt balance. This means that AAII efficiency is improved by salt depletion induced by a salt-free diet or thiazide diuretics. AAIIs induce short-term improvement of haemodynamic parameters in cardiac insufficiency. Several ongoing clinical trials have been designed to compare their efficacy in cardiac insufficiency and myocardial infarction with those of reference treatments. Valsartan has been recently shown to improve morbimortality in patients with cardiac insufficiency and receiving a conventional treatment including an ACEI. It has been convincingly shown that blockade of the renin-aldosterone system by ACEIs decreases proteinuria and slows down the progression of renal insufficiency, especially in type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Recent trials have shown that AAIIs share the same properties as ACEIs in these indications. It appears that the beneficial effect of AAIIs and ACEIs is not entirely explained by the blood pressure lowering effect of these drugs. AAII administration increases renin release and Ang II production, which may overcome Ang II blockade. On this basis, the combination of an AAII and an ACEI has been proposed to achieve a maximal renin-angiotensin system blockade. Several experimental studies in animals and preliminary clinical studies all indicate that the combination of the two drugs may be more beneficial than either drug used alone in hypertension, cardiac insufficiency and post-myocardial infarction. Clinical trials are necessary to further document the putative advantages of such a combined therapy. The future of AAIIs depends on the following: progress made in the understanding of the molecular and cellular activities of angiotensin (angiotensin receptor signalling, receptor dimerisation, presence of other angiotensin receptor subtypes, role of AT(2) receptor, etc.);a comprehensive view of the role of the local renin system in various organs (local generation and effect of Ang II on cellular proliferation, fibrosis, inflammation, angiogenesis, etc.);predictability of the response to AAII treatment (genetic predisposition to AAII treatment, in conjunction with environmental factors); andresults of the ongoing clinical trials designed to assess the long-term effects of AAIIs in cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, in comparison with reference treatments.
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PMID:[Angiotensin II receptor blockers: current status and future prospects]. 1203 89

Several treatment guidelines have made strong recommendations to physicians that treatment of nephropathy and hypertension should be based on the use of a long-acting angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor if tolerated. The recently published clinical trials, based on angiotensin II receptor blockers' effects on diabetic nephropathy and essential hypertension, have also shown significant endpoint reduction. Perhaps the time has come to broaden the recommendations to include the use of a renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system altering drug. But what if the treatment goal cannot be reached, and incessant proteinuria and high blood pressure levels persist despite high dosage treatment of either drug? How should this be handled? The dual blockade principle can possibly provide the solution by obtaining the broadest and most efficient blockade of circulating angiotensin II by using the combination of an ACE inhibitor and an angiotensin II receptor blocker. But large clinical trials are yet to come, and at present large endpoint trials have not been published. This article provides an overview of how far we have come with dual blockade treatment in hypertension and nephropathy.
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PMID:Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers: evidence for and against the combination in the treatment of hypertension and proteinuria. 1221 59

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentrations are increased in patients with diabetes mellitus, particularly those with diabetic retinopathy, or essential hypertension. We hypothesized that ET-1 might participate in the development and progression of diabetic microangiopathy. In this study, the effects of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, enalapril maleate, on diabetic angiopathy were examined in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic (STZ-DM) rats by monitoring variations in renal function and ET-1 concentrations in blood and organ tissues. Significant increases in kidney weight and in concentrations of urinary albumin, N-acetyl-fl-d-glucosamidase (NAG) and serum ET-1 were observed in the STZ-DM rats as compared with the non-diabetic rats, and the concentration of ET-1 in the kidneys tended to be increased. Microscopic and electron microscopic analyses showed increased mesangial cell proliferation, matrix expansion and enlarged mesangial area in the kidney of the diabetic rats. After administration of the ACE inhibitor, increased concentrations of urinary albumin and NAG in the STZ-DM rats were reduced to the control values with a slight improvement in the electron microscopic changes. These data suggest that ET-1 may be involved in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy and may explain, in part, why diabetes is liable to complicate hypertension. ACE inhibitor may help to restore diabetic nephropathy in the STZ-induced diabetic rats.
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PMID:Changes of endothelin in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats: effects of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, enalapril maleate. 1237 8

Microalbuminuria (MA) i.e. slightly elevated albumin excretion in the urine, is now considered to be an atherosclerotic risk factor. MA predicts future cardiovascular disease risk in diabetic patients, in elderly patients, as well as in the general population. It has been implicated as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature cardiovascular mortality for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as for patients with essential hypertension. Although microalbuminuria is associated with a certain degree of sub-clinical artherosclerotic damage, it is not known how early in the atherosclerotic process microalbuminuria appears. Epidemiological studies have shown an association between MA and insulin resistance, obesity, salt sensitivity and dyslipidaemia in patients with essential hypertension and diabetes. Patients with microalbuminuria are also characterised by an increased prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy and retinal microvascular lesions. Microalbuminuria, is associated with an excess of other cardiovascular risk factors. The mechanisms linking microalbuminuria and risk for cardiovascular disease are not fully understood, but in subjects at risk it may be related to increased transvascular leakiness of albumin in systemic as well as renal vessels. A recent concept is that microalbuminuria is a marker of extensive endothelial dysfunction or generalised vasculopathy, which may lead to heightened atherogenic states. One possible explanation is that endothelial dysfunction might promote increased penetration of atherogenic lipoprotein particles in the arterial wall, but glycaemic status, insulin resistance, procoagulant state and adhesion molecules have all been implicated in the pathogenesis. Current evidence suggests that tight blood pressure control may reduce the risk of microalbuminuria in diabetic patients with hypertension and that inhibitors of the rennin-angiotensin system (RAS) can prevent or delay the progression of microalbuminuria to overt nephropathy in normotensive persons. ACE inhibitors are currently recognised as first-line antihypertensive therapy in diabetic patients with proteinuria, and these agents afford unique benefits in modifying the progression and severity of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well as of diabetic nephropathy. Whether albuminuria is a risk factor or just a marker for CV disease, it identifies the high-risk diabetic patient who should be targeted for early, aggressive intervention against proven risk factors. If persistent microalbuminuria is confirmed, strict blood pressure control with added RAS inhibition should be pursued in an attempt to stabilise or even reduce microalbuminuria, preserve kidney function and possibly improve cardiovascular risk.
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PMID:The link between microalbuminuria, endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease in diabetes. 1238 63

Renin angiotensin(RA) system is deeply involved in the pathophysiological conditions of essential hypertension. To inhibit RA system is supposed to be induced cardiovascular protective effect. ACEIs and ARBs are used as first choice of drugs in the treatment of hypertension. Clinical evidence shows that ACEIs have protective effects on heart, kidney and brain. Several large clinical trials suggest that ARBs have also protective effects on heart and diabetic nephropathy. Furthermore, recent study has demonstrated that an ARB prevents more cardiovascular morbidity and death than a beta blocker and is better tolerated in hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy. Now accumulated evidence indicates that ARBs are useful drugs in the treatment of hypertension.
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PMID:[Clinical application of ARB and ACEI]. 1239 95

The studies concerning the structure and variations of the human adrenomedullin (AM) gene are reviewed, and their relations to the gene function and genetic predisposition to cardiovascular diseases are discussed. The genomic human AM gene is composed of four exons, and the whole nucleotide sequence corresponding to mature AM resides in the fourth exon. In chromosomal sublocalization, the AM gene is located in the distal portion of the short arm of chromosome 11 (11p15.1-3). Analysis of the promoter region of the AM gene has revealed that two transcription factors, nuclear factor for interleukin-6 expression (NF-IL6) and activator protein 2 (AP-2), participate in the regulation of AM gene expression. It is surmised that NF-IL6 mediates inflammatory stimuli and AP-2 mediates signals of phospholipase C and protein kinase C activation. In addition to these factors, hypoxia induces AM gene expression via the hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) binding site. The 3'-end of the AM gene is flanked by a microsatellite marker of cytosine adenine (CA) repeats. In Japanese, there are four types of alleles with different CA-repeat numbers: 11, 13, 14 and 19. It is suggested that existence of the 19-repeat allele is associated with genetic predispositions to develop essential hypertension and diabetic nephropathy.
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PMID:Variations of human adrenomedullin gene and its relation to cardiovascular diseases. 1263 Aug 23

The red cell membrane Li+/Na+exchange is a heteroexchange that operates in either direction across the cell membrane. It binds either Li+ or Na+ on one side of the membrane and it exchanges the transported species for either Li+ or Na+ on the opposite side in a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1. In the population, Li+/Na+exchange is unimodally distributed but skewed to the right. Such distribution results from superimposition of two normal distributions. Many laboratories have shown that red-cell Li+/Na+ exchange is increased in patients with essential hypertension, compared with normotensive controls. Among the various alterations of cell membrane cation transport reported in hypertension, the increase of red-cell Li+/Na+ exchange has been most widely investigated and confirmed. Moreover, increased Li+/Na+ exchange has been found in some clinical conditions related to hypertension, such as overweight and diabetes. Among diabetic patients, Li+/Na+ exchange is particularly high in patients with nephropathy, hypertension, and microalbuminuria, leading to the hypothesis that it can be considered a cellular marker of the risk of developing diabetic nephropathy. Furthermore, it is associated with severe and drug-resistant hypertension, insulin resistance, vascular and cardiac hypertrophy, hyperlipidemia, obesity, family history of hypertension, and of major cardiovascular accidents suggesting that high Li+/Na+ exchange could be a biochemical marker for increased cardiovascular risk. Regardless of its the pathophysiological significance, its measurement could be of clinical use as an intermediate phenotype of increased cardiovascular risk.
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PMID:The Li+/Na+ exchange in hypertension. 1270 53

Sodium-lithium countertransport (SLC) is an ouabain-insensitive exchange of Na for Li found in the erythrocyte membrane of several mammalian species. Although increased SLC activity is presently the most consistent intermediate phenotype of essential hypertension and diabetic nephropathy in humans, the gene responsible for this membrane transport has not been identified. Because of functional similarities, SLC was suggested to represent an in vitro mode of operation of the Na-H exchanger (NHE). This hypothesis, however, has been long hampered by the total insensitivity of SLC to amiloride, which is an intrinsic inhibitor of the first isoform of NHE, the only NHE isoform detected in human erythrocytes. We describe here the identification in human reticulocytes and erythrocytes of an alternative splicing of NHE lacking the amiloride binding site. Transfection experiments with this spliced variant restore amiloride-insensitive, phloretin-sensitive SLC activity. Expression of both regular and spliced transcripts of NHE is increased in subjects with high SLC activity. Altogether, these findings, by extending to NHE the characteristics of inheritance and predictivity previously attributed to SLC, eventually restore the candidacy of NHE isoform 1 as a gene involved in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension and diabetic nephropathy.
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PMID:Alternative splicing of NHE-1 mediates Na-Li countertransport and associates with activity rate. 1276 64

There are several mechanisms about high blood pressure induced by insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Hyperinsulinemia is rare in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients. Therefore, hyperinsulinemia is not a major cause of high blood pressure in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients. Diabetic nephropathy was associated with high blood pressure. There was a relation between diabetic nephropathy and insulin resistance. Coexistence of essential hypertension with type 2 diabetes. Both essential hypertension and type 2 diabetes were related with insulin resistance. Vascular endothelial dysfunction was associated with insulin resistance. High blood pressure was partially caused by the endothelial dysfunction. The degree of insulin induced vasodilation was reduced in the type 2 diabetic patients with insulin resistance.
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PMID:[Insulin resistance]. 1287 71


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