RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of sodium ferulate (SF) on diabetic nephropathy (DN).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-eight DN patients of early stage and 54 DN patients of clinical stage were randomly divided into two groups, the conventional treatment group and the SF treatment group. Indexes, including urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER), serum endothelin (ET), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The levels of UAER, BUN and ET were decreased in all DN patients, either early stage or clinical stage, after treated with SF for 4 weeks (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), but changed insignificantly in those treated with conventional treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SF can decrease the levels of UAER and BUN in DN patients, the mechanism may relate with the decreasing of ET production and antagonizing to the binding of ET with its receptors.</p>