The role of ramipril in the therapy of diabetic nephropathy

In the past two decades the number of diabetic patients has increased dramatically. According to the data of the International Diabetes Federation published in 2012, more than 371 million people suffer from diabetes mellitus, which is responsible for the death of 4.8 million people yearly. Diabetic nephropathy is the most frequent cause of terminal renal failure. The first stage of its development is microalbuminuria. Without an efficient treatment 20-40% of the patients with microalbuminuria suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus develop chronic renal failure, but only 20% of them become uremic because most of them die beforehand mainly due to cardiovascular disease. The reninangiotensin-system, which is one of the most important elements of the regulation of blood pressure and water-salt metabolism, plays an important role in the development of diabetic nephropathy. Drugs affecting the function of this system are of great significance in the treatment of hypertension. The author rewiews the results of several important studies and animal experiments to demonstrate the role of ramipril in the therapy of diabetic nephropathy. The author concludes that ramipril is one of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors with the highest number of evidence based beneficial results. Apart from its blood pressure decreasing effect, ramipril protects target organs and it proved to be effective in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy according to most international multicenter clinical trials.