Suppressive Effects of Valsartan on Microalbuminuria and CRP in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome (Val-Mets)

The presence of metabolic syndrome (Mets) increases the risk for cardiovascular disease. There is a significant correlation between the levels of urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) and high-sensitive C-reactive peptide (hs-CRP), and accumulation of each Mets component. Increasing evidence has shown the importance of blockade of renin-angiotensin-systems (RAS) for reducing urinary albumin excretion and hs-CRP levels in Mets patients. However, the impact of RAS blockade on these effects in hypertensive (HT) Mets patients without diabetes mellitus (DM) has not been evaluated. We prospectively measured the levels of UACR and hs-CRP in 153 HT patients with and without Mets. Body weight; waist circumference; presence of dyslipidemia and DM, and levels of HOMA-R, UACR, and hs-CRP were significantly higher in HT patients with Mets than in those without Mets. After we treated these Mets patients with valsartan for 6 months, blood pressure (BP), UACR, and hs-CRP were decreased, whereas body weight, HOMR-R, and the lipid profile were not changed. In HT Mets patients without DM, 6 months after valsartan administration, levels of UACR and hs-CRP were also significantly decreased by 37.8% (-9.0-56.5%, p < 0.05) and 23.6% (-28.7-73.4%, p < 0.05), respectively. However, the percentage change of UACR and hs-CRP was not correlated with the reduction in BP. Valsartan administration lowered increased levels of chronic inflammation in both HT Mets patients with DM and in those without DM. These results indicate that the anti-inflammatory properties of valsartan might also have beneficial effects in Mets patients without DM.