RESUMEN
Few controversial studies have been reported about red cell Sodium-lithium counter transport [SLC] in patients with essential hypertension and diabetes mellitus. To relate red cell SLC to essential hypertension and diabetes with or without nephropathy, we studied SLC activity [mmol/liter of red cells/hour] in 10 non-diabetic hypertensive patients and 30 diabetics [10 non- hypertensive without clinical nephropathy and 10 hypertensive with clinical nephropathy] compared with 10 healthy controls. Non-diabetic hypertensive and non- hypertensive diabetics had insignificantly higher levels of SLC activity compared with controls [0.336 +/- 0.02 and 0.366 +/- 0.02 vs 0.273 +/- 0.26, respectively]. Non- hypertensive nephropathic diabetics had a significantly SLC [0.466 +/- 0.3] compared with controls [P<0.001]. non-diabetic hypertensive. [P< 0.01] and non-nephropathic non- hypertensive diabetics [P< 0.05]. following the same order subjects with SLC activity>0.4 were 90%, 0%, 10% and 20%. All hypertensive diabetics with nephropathy had SLC activity>0.4 [100%] with a significantly higher value compared with other groups [P< 0.001]. We conclude that elevated red cell SLC activity can be considered as a useful screening test to detect a subset of diabetics in whom all preventive modalities against development of nephropathy should be energetically applied