Response of plasma immunoreactive active renin, inactive renin, plasma renin activity, and aldosterone to hemodialysis in patients with diabetic nephropathy

Several alterations in plasma active renin, inactive renin (prorenin), and aldosterone have been described in patients with diabetes mellitus. Such changes could be of some importance for patients on hemodialysis treatment, who must undergo severe changes in fluid and electrolyte status during each dialysis session. Therefore we studied the response of renin and aldosterone to hemodialysis in uremic diabetic nephropathy patients, using direct immunometric assays to measure plasma active renin concentration (ARC), inactive renin concentration (IRC), total renin concentration (TRC), plasma renin activity (PRA), and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) in 11 male patients aged 39-69 (mean 53 ± 2) with diabetic nephropathy and 11 male age-matched non-diabetics who had been on maintenance hemodialysis for 1-10 years. Although baseline values of IRC were slightly higher, and values of PAC lower in diabetics compared to non-diabetics, the results did not reach statistical significance. During hemodialysis, significant increases in ARC (p < 0.01), TRC (p < 0.05), and PRA (p < 0.01), and a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in PAC were seen in non-diabetic patients but no significant changes were observed in patients with diabetic nephropathy. IRC did not change during hemodialysis in either group of patients. There were no significant differences in body weight, blood pressure, or electrolyte changes in the two groups. These results suggest an altered response of plasma renin and aldosterone to hemodialysis in patients with diabetic nephropathy compared to non-diabetics. The reduced renin response could not be explained by a defect in conversion from inactive renin, but may be caused by decreased secretion of active renin in these patients.