Loading...
Researchers have long debated whether hyperuricemia causes decline in renal function. In two randomized trials, investigators inform this controversy by examining whether urate-lowering therapy affects the course of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
One trial involved 267 patients (mean age, 51) with longstanding type 1 diabetes, serum urate levels ≥4.5 mg/dL, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 40 and 100 mL/minute/1.73 m2, and either proteinuria or documented decline in eGFR (of ≥3 mL/minute annually during the previous several years). Patients received either allopurinol (titrated to 200 to 400 mg daily) or placebo; allopurinol reduced mean uric acid levels from 6.1 mg/dL to 3.9 mg/dL. During 3 years of follow-up, renal functi…