Dynamic evaluation of renal resistive index in normoalbuminuric patients with newly diagnosed hypertension or type 2 diabetes

AIM/HYPOTHESIS: Renal resistive index is a useful measure for quantifying alterations in renal blood flow. In the present study we evaluated resistive index at baseline and after vasodilation induced by nitroglycerine in normoalbuminuric patients with type 2 diabetes or essential hypertension, relating the values to indices of systemic vascular dysfunction. METHODS: Newly diagnosed treatment-naïve type 2 diabetic (n = 32) and hypertensive patients (n = 49) were compared with 27 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Renal resistive index was obtained by duplex ultrasound at baseline and after 25 μg sublingual nitroglycerine. Endothelium-dependent (flow-mediated dilation) and -independent (response to nitroglycerine) vasodilation in the brachial artery was assessed by computerised edge detection system. Carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity and augmentation index were assessed by applanation tonometry. Nitrotyrosine levels, an index of oxidative stress, were also measured. RESULTS: Resistive index was higher in diabetic than in hypertensive patients and controls (p < 0.001), while changes in resistive index induced by nitroglycerine were lower in hypertensive patients compared with controls (p < 0.01), and were further reduced in type 2 diabetic patients. Hypertensive and diabetic patients showed significantly increased arterial stiffness, nitrotyrosine levels and reduced endothelial function than controls (p < 0.05). Changes in resistive index induced by nitroglycerine were independently related to serum glucose, reactive hyperaemia and aortic pulse-wave velocity in the overall population. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: These results support the dynamic evaluation of renal resistive index as an early detector of renal vascular alterations in the presence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension, even before the onset of microalbuminuria.