OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical effect of combined treatment with safflor yellow powder injection and benazepril in treating patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN).

METHODSSeventy-six patients with DN were randomly assigned to the treatment group (39 cases) and the control group (37 cases). Conventional treatment for lowering blood glucose was given to both groups, but to the control group 10 mg benazepril was given orally once a day additionally, while to those in the treatment group the same dosage of benazepril po. and 150 mg/d of safflor yellow powder injection by adding in 250 mL 0.9% normal saline for intravenous dripping. The therapeutic course for them all was 15 days, and all patients received two courses with an interval of 5 days. Changes of clinical symptoms, urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER), blood and urinary levels of beta2 -microglobulin (beta2 -MG), urinary level of alpha1-microglobulin (alpha1 -MG), D-dimer (D-D) and plasma fibrinogen (FIB) were observed.

RESULTSThe total effective rate in the treatment group was higher than that in the control group (84.62% vs 59.45 %, P < 0.05). The total score of syndrome in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Levels of UAER, 132-MG in serum and in urine, alpha1-MG in urine were decreased significantly after after 2 courses of treatment in both groups, showing significant difference as compared with before treatment (P < 0.05 or P <0.01), and the decrements were more significant in the treatment group than those in the control group (P <0.05); while decrease of FIB, D-D only happened in the treatment group (P <0.01), so the post-treatment data in the treatment group were significantly lower as compared with those in the control group (P <0.01).

CONCLUSIONCombined therapy with safflor yellow injection and benazepril is superior to benazepril alone in reducing urinary albumin, improving renal function and blood hyperviscosity manner for patients with DN, suggesting the combination of the two could play their respective superiorities and act in cooperation for retarding the progression of DN.