FRIDAY, Feb. 25 (HealthDay News) -- An increase in the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) may indicate deterioration of endothelial function by reduction of nitric oxide (NO) activity that is unrelated to changes in blood pressure, according to a study in the February issue of Diabetes.
Christian Ott, from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany, and colleagues analyzed the effect of NO on glomerular barrier function and albuminuria in 62 patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and 22 patients with hypercholesterolemia but without hypertension or type 2 diabetes. The researchers blocked nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) by systemic infusion of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), and measured the UACR before and after blocking NOSs.
The researchers found that there was a significant increase in the UACR response to NOS inhibition with L-NMMA in both groups of patients. Even after adjusting for the filtration fraction, the change in mean arterial pressure in response to L-NMMA was not related to the increase in UACR in either population.
"NOS inhibition provokes albuminuria that is unrelated to changes in blood pressure. It is noteworthy that this finding was evident in patient groups prone to endothelial dysfunction and albuminuria. Thus, acute deterioration of endothelial function by reducing NO activity causes an increase in albuminuria," the authors write.
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