Alprostadil combined with a-LA is better than alprostadil  monotherapy in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN), suggests a study  published in the American Journal of Translational Research.

A team of researchers from China conducted a study to  investigate the clinical efficacy of alprostadil combined with α-Lipoic acid  (α-LA) in the treatment of senile diabetic nephropathy (SDN) and the  combination's effect on the serum chemerin and neutrophil gelatinase-associated  lipocalin (NGAL) expressions. The researchers included seventy-six patients  with diabetic nephropathy (DN) admitted to our hospital from March 2018 to  October 2019 were recruited as the research cohort. Among them, 36 patients who  were administered alprostadil monotherapy were placed in the control group  (CG), and the remaining 40 patients administered α-LA in addition to the  alprostadil were placed in the research group (RG). The treatment effectiveness  rate, the incidence of adverse reactions, and the changes in the renal function  indexes (BUN, SCr, UAER) and the blood glucose indexes (FPG, 2hPG) were  compared between the two groups.

The results of the study are as follows:

1. The total effective rate in the research group  (RG) was significantly higher than the total effective rate in the control  group (CG).

2.The renal function and blood glucose indexes  dropped significantly after the treatment.

3.The chemerin and neutrophil  gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels were significantly reduced in  both groups after the treatment and the chemerin and neutrophil  gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) expressions in the research group (RG)  were significantly lower than they were in the control group (CG).

Thus, the researchers concluded that alprostadil combined with α-LA is better than alprostadil monotherapy in the treatment of diabetic  nephropathy (DN) because it can improve the effectiveness rate, reduce blood glucose, and improve the renal function while effectively reducing  patients' serum chemerin and NGAL levels.

The effects of alprostadil combined with α-lipoic acid in the  treatment of senile diabetic nephropathy by Xiaohong Cao and Ping Chen  published in the American Journal of Translational Research.

References:

https://medicaldialogues.in/nephrology/news/alprostadil-combined-with-la-effective-for-senile-diabetic-nephropathy-study-83505