Fenofibrate decreased microalbuminuria in the type 2 diabetes patients with hypertriglyceridemia

Background This study was to research the efficacy of fenofibrate in the treatment of microalbuminuria in the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertriglyceridemia. Methods Type 2 diabetic patients (56) with microalbuminuria and hypertriglyceridemia aged 30 to 75 were randomly divided into the fenofibrate treatment group(n = 28) and the control group (n = 28) for 180 days. Urinary microalbumin /creatinine ratio (UACR) and other metabolic parameters were compared at baseline, during treatment and after treatment. Results After 180 days, the reduction of level of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) between two groups showed no difference. In the treatment group, uric acid (UA) (296.42 +/- 56.41 vs 372.46 +/- 72.78), triglyceride (TG) [1.51(1.17, 2.06) vs 3.04(2.21, 3.29)], and UACR [36.45 (15.78,102.41) vs 129.00 (53.00, 226.25)] were significantly decreased compared with the baseline. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were significantly increased (1.22 +/- 0.26 vs 1.09 +/- 0.24) compared with the baseline. The decrease in UACR [- 44.05(- 179.47, - 12.16) vs - 8.15(- 59.69, 41.94)]in treatment group was significantly higher compared with the control group. The decrease in UACR was positively associated with the decreases in TG (r = 0.447, P = 0.042) and UA (r = 0.478, P = 0.024) after fenofibrate treatment. Conclusion In the patients with hypertriglyceridemia and type 2 diabetes mellitus, fenofibrate can improve microalbuminuria and do not increase the deterioration of glomerular filtration rate.