<p>This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p> <p>The objective of this study was to compare the effect
of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and
a calcium channel blocker on the development of renal
changes in diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by an intravenous
injection of streptozotocin in normotensive Wistar
rats. Treatment was commenced immediately in 1 set of
rats with 4 treatment arms: nitrendipine (250 mg/kg fodder),
enalapril (35 mg/L drinking water), both treatments
in combination, or placebo. Treatment was continued for 9
weeks. Another set of rats was left with untreated diabetes
for 3 months followed by 7 weeks treatment as above. When
starting treatment right after induction of diabetes, nitrendipine
significantly reduced urinary albumin excretion
(UAE) to the nondiabetic level (<italic>P</italic> &lt; .05) without reducing
blood pressure (BP), whereas enalapril failed to significantly reduce UAE despite a reduction in BP. Combining the
two treatments showed no further reduction in UAE compared
to monotherapy with nitrendipine, despite a lower
BP. When leaving diabetic rats untreated for 3 months, only
the coadministration of nitrendipine and enalapril showed
a significant reduction in UAE compared to monotherapy
and placebo treatment, but showed no significant effect
on BP.</p>
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Exp Diabesity Res. 2003; 4(3):191-199