MultiVu Video Feed: Study in the New England Journal of Medicine Shows High Blood Pressure Drug Tekturna(R) Reduces Key Marker of Kidn...( Diabetes and high blood pressure ...),Health

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the leading causes of kidney disease, which affects approximately 26 million people in the United States. For patients with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, reducing proteinuria is associated with slowing the progression of kidney disease, which can reduce the risk of kidney failure. There are approximately 14 million adults in the US diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure.

Data published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine demonstrate that the first direct renin inhibitor Tekturna (aliskiren), when added to the maximum dose of the angiotensin-receptor-blocker (ARB) losartan, reduced proteinuria, a key indicator of kidney disease, independent of its already proven ability to provide powerful blood pressure reductions. Damage to the kidneys caused by diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in developed countries, affecting more than 1.5 million people worldwide.

In the AVOID (Aliskiren in the EValuation of PrOteinuria In Diabetes) study, Tekturna, when added to the maximum dose of losartan, reduced proteinuria by 20% compared to losartan alone in patients diagnosed with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. These patients were initially treated with the maximum dose of losartan, which has been shown to slow the progression of diabetic kidney disease.

Tekturna, the latest type of high blood pressure medication, works differently from other high blood pressure medications by targeting renin, an enzyme that starts a process that when inappropriately activated may lead to high blood pressure.

About Tekturna

Tekturna is a prescription medication for adults, used to treat high blood pressure. It can be used alone or in combination with other high blood pressure medications. Tekturna has not been adequately studied in combination with the maximum doses of a class of medications called ACE inhibitors.

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