Effect of Shuxuening on IL-18 in Patients with Early Diabetic Nephropathy

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of Shuxuening on interleukin 18 (IL-18) in patients with early diabetic nephropathy.METHODS:68 patients with early diabetic nephropathy were randomly divided into 2 groups (n=34).Both groups were given conventional diabetes therapy and oral dose of irbesartan (150 mg,qd).Treatment group were additionally treated with Shuxuening injection 20 mL and sodium chloride injection 250 mL (i.v.qd) for 3 weeks.The levels of IL-18 of 2 groups before and after treatment were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,and the albumin excretion rate (UAER),fasting plasma glucose (FPG),serum creatinine (Scr) and other indicators were also detected.RESULTS:Compared with before treatment,the levels of IL-18 of 2 groups decreased after treatment (P0.05).The decrease of IL-18 in treatment group was more significant than in control group (P0.01).After treatment,the UAER of treatment group after treatment was lower than before treatment (P 0.05 or P0.01).There was no significant difference in FPG and Scr between 2 groups (P0.05).CONCLUSION:Shuxuening can inhibit inflammatory cytokines IL-18 in peripheral blood of patients with diabetic nephropathy and have protective effects on kidney,which may be adjuvant therapy for diabetic nephropathy.