Progressive renal insufficiency: the role of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors.

Experimental animal studies have demonstrated a renal protective effect of ACE inhibition therapy in diabetes mellitus and the remnant kidney model of chronic renal failure. The mechanism of this effect is secondary, at least in part, to the drugs' effects on glomerular hemodynamics. In addition, there is further evidence to suggest that ACE inhibitors may influence other pathogenic mechanisms of progressive renal insufficiency. Preliminary data in clinical studies suggest that ACE inhibition therapy decreases proteinuria and may ameliorate the decline of the glomerular filtration rate in diabetic nephropathy and progressive renal insufficiency of other etiologies. However, before this conclusion can be definite, a large, prospective, randomized clinical trial is required to compare ACE inhibitors to conventional antihypertensive agents. Since calcium channel blockers are metabolically neutral in that they do not increase serum cholesterol or glucose levels and generally do not cause orthostatic hypotension, they may be ideal agents for such a comparison study.