Dipyridamole reduces urinary albumin excretion in diabetic patients with normo- or microalbuminuria.

The effect of 150 mg/day dipyridamole p.o. on urinary albumin excretion (UAE) was studied in 48 patients with diabetes mellitus without clinically discernible nephropathy. In 42 patients who were followed at an outpatient clinic, albumin/creatinine ratio (Ualb/Ucreat: mg/mmol) of untimed urine obtained from the same subjects repetitively was employed as an index of UAE. In 6 hospitalized patients, albumin excretion rate (AER) (micrograms/min) of 24-h-collected urine was determined. When followed without dipyridamole for 10.8 (the mean) months (N = 27, outpatients), the mean Ualb/Ucreat increased from 8.1 to 20.5. Of these, 11 patients with Ualb/Ucreat greater than 1.0 at the end of the observation period subsequently received dipyridamole for 4.2 months, and the ratio decreased from 49.0 to 7.3. When treated with dipyridamole for 9.0 months without a pre-treatment observation period (N = 15, outpatients), the ratio decreased from 9.8 to 5.6. AER of hospitalized patients who received dipyridamole for 10.0 days reduced from 68.0 to 21.9. All of these changes were statistically significant. Urinary beta 2 MG, blood pressure, serum creatinine and glycemic control were unaffected by the dipyridamole treatment. We conclude that dipyridamole reduces UAE in diabetic patients with subclinical level of albuminuria.