Perceptions of Spanish-speaking clientele of patient care services in a community pharmacy.

Background: A paucity of studies exists that have assessed community pharmacy preferences of Spanish-speaking patients living in areas of the U.S. with rapidly growing Hispanic populations.

Potential new treatments for diabetic kidney disease.

Antifibrotic agents, antioxidant agents, ET-a receptor antagonists, and a few other agents with nonspecific or multifaceted mechanisms of action have been evaluated and progressed to small clinical studies in human subjects. Although there are limited data at the present time, these early evaluations have produced some favorable results that at least warrant further investigation. There is certainly not enough compelling evidence to justify the routine use of any of these products specifically for DKD at the moment; however, more well-controlled and adequately powered studies in several hundred patients will help determine which of these may have a place in the DKD treatment armamentarium of the future.

Update on potential drugs for the treatment of diabetic kidney disease.

Background: Although controlling hyperglycemia and proteinuria is currently the main focus of diabetic kidney disease management, some existing drugs and other new compounds are being evaluated for their ability to interrupt the disease process. Specifically, drugs that interfere with the formation and action of advanced glycation end products and reduce or inhibit fibrosis of the glomerular structures in the presence of hyperglycemia are just 2 examples.

Objective: The aim is to provide an in-depth review of drugs currently being investigated to treat diabetic kidney disease (DKD) through novel mechanisms of action that interrupt the pathologic process.