The patients who were non-obese (BMI \< 30 kg/m2), non dyslipidemic (total cholesterol \< 200 mg/dl, Triglyceride\<150mg/dl), and free of cardiovascular events (negative medical history, negative ECG findings) were investigated for enrollment. CKD stage 1 patients older than 18 years of age and willing to participate to the study were screened. From the 231 patients with established type 2 diabetes mellitus, 126 had proteinuria and/or hypertension (24 h protein excretion 1-2 g/day, systolic blood pressures ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressures ≥ 90 mmHg, respectively). All cases were first referrals and at the time of the study all were off treatment. Patients with history of coronary artery disease, smokers and those taking statins or renin-angiotensin blockers were excluded because of the effect of these factors on endothelial dysfunction. Of 126 screened patients 78 met the study criteria and were included in this study. The duration of proteinuria and diabetic nephropathy after initial diagnosis was not known.
The exclusion criteria were as follows: A)Nephrotic syndrome, B)coronary heart disease (patients with ischemic ST-T alterations and voltage criteria for LVH on electrocardiogram, and with history of revascularization or myocardial infarction), C) elevated liver enzymes (AST or ALT levels ≥ 40 U/L) and D) renal failure (serum creatinine levels \> 1.3 mg/dl). In order to evaluate the effect of RAS blockade on plasma PTX3 concentrations, patients with proteinuria were given an ACE inhibitor (ramipril 10 mg/day) for 12 weeks. The effect of RAS blockade on insulin sensitivity and proteinuria was also investigated.
After the intervention period, blood samples were obtained for assay of plasma PTX3 concentrations, HbA1c , and insulin resistance scores (HOMA-IR).
Urine samples were also collected over a 24-hour period to determine the degree of proteinuria.
