Effects of captopril and hydralazine on progression of adriamycin nephropathy in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The effects of captopril and hydralazine on morphologic changes and clinical course of adriamycin nephropathy in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were examined. The rats were followed for 18 weeks after adriamycin injections. At week 1 they were randomly assigned to receive no antihypertensive treatment, captopril 60 mg/kg per day or hydralazine 6 mg/kg per day. A control group of SHR not treated with adriamycin was also included in the study. Both antihypertensive agents normalized systemic blood pressure, but failed to prevent proteinuria, mesangial expansion and renal failure progression. At the end of the study all adriamycin-treated groups had the same degree of renal failure irrespective of whether blood pressure was well controlled with captopril or hydralazine or whether hypertension persisted. Nevertheless, antihypertensive therapy slowed down renal function deterioration in the early stage of adriamycin nephropathy. Treatment with captopril also reduced the development of glomerular sclerosis.