Therapeutic effects of calcium dobesilate on diabetic nephropathy mediated through reduction of expression of PAI-1

The aim of this study was to investigate whether calcium dobesilate (calcium dihydroxy-2,5-benzenesulfonate) may be used to treat diabetic nephropathy. A total of 121 patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy received calcium dobesilate (500 mg, 3 times a day) for 3 months. The levels of glycated hemoglobin, fasting serum C peptide, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transferase, urea nitrogen, creatinine, hematocrit, plasma viscosity, whole blood reduced viscosity, high, medium and low shear rate whole blood viscosity, fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and endothelin were determined. The urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) was also determined once a month during the study. The UAER and medium and low shear rate whole blood viscosity were significantly lower in the treated patients. The rate of microalbuminuria normalization was 90%. During the treatment, the UAERs decreased. The results revealed that calcium dobesilate has therapeutic effects on type 2 diabetes patients with microalbuminuria. In addition, the benefit was positively correlated with the calcium dobesilate treatment time. The therapeutic effect may be due to decreases in the levels of PAI-1.