Ramipril Slows Kidney Disease, REIN Study Shows

A study entitled Ramipril Efficacy In Nephropathy has demonstrated, forthe first time, that the ACE inhibitor ramipril (marketed by Hoechst Marion Roussel as Attace/ Tritace) has a kidney-protective effect, slowing the progression of renal function decline and progression to dialysis in nondiabetic patients. The study was published in The Lancet (June 28).

The multicenter, double-blind two-year study enrolled 352 non-diabetic, advanced-nephropathy patients. Participants were normotensive or hypertensive, had proteinuria (with urinary protein excretion levels of 1g per 24 hours for at least three months), and had not been treated with ACE inhibitors for at least two months.

Study Design Patients were divided into two groups according to their level of urinary protein excretion; those who excreted 1g-3g of protein in their urine per 24-hour period (stratum one), and those who excreted more than 3g of protein in a 24-hour period (stratum two). In people with normal kidney function, only trace amounts of protein are found in the urine.