American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of addition of silymarin to renin-angiotensin system inhibitors on proteinuria in type 2 diabetic patients with overt nephropathy: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
A large proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have diabetic nephropathy. Despite current therapies including renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, diabetic nephropathy progresses to end-stage renal disease in most of these patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find new treatments for such patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of silymarin, an herbal drug with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, in preventing the progression of diabetic nephropathy. ⋯ Silymarin reduces urinary excretion of albumin, TNF-α, and MDA in patients with diabetic nephropathy and may be considered as a novel addition to the anti-diabetic nephropathy armamentarium.