Background. Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common cause of chronic renal failure among primary glomerulonephritis patients. The best treatment for IgAN remains poorly defined. We planned a long-term, prospective, open-label, multicentre, centrally randomized controlled trial to assess whether the combination of prednisone and ramipril was more effective than ramipril alone in patients with proteinuric IgAN. C The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of

more »

... A-EDTA]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org 1.73 m 2 /year; P = 0.013). Moreover, the combined treatment reduced 24-h proteinuria more than ramipril alone during the first 2 years. Conclusions. Our results suggest that the combination of corticosteroids and ramipril may provide additional benefits compared with ramipril alone in preventing the progression of renal disease in proteinuric IgAN patients in the longterm follow-up.