ACE Inhibitor-Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Combinations: A Clinicians Perspective

ACE Inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) inhibit the renin-angiotensin system, but ACEI may do so incompletely when administered as monotherapy at conventional doses. In theory, combining an ACEI and ARB might be beneficial, whereas clinical evidence for this approach in hypertension is lacking. An ACEI-ARB combination is likely to be useful in proteinuric renal disease, but recent experimental evidence suggests that very high dose monotherapy with an ARB may be the best approach. However, the results of large outcome studies for combinations vs. ACEI or ARB monotherapy are still awaited.

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis in a patient receiving treatment with etanercept for severe rheumatoid arthritis

Etanercept is a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and, increasingly, in a range of other diseases. We report a case of necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis, associated with a positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody, causing acute renal failure in a woman receiving treatment with etanercept for severe rheumatoid arthritis. Our patient was treated with steroids and cyclophosphamide following withdrawal of etanercept, with a good clinical response. Although reports of vasculitis in patients receiving treatment with etanercept are rare, this drug has been shown to up-regulate some aspects of immune function, and the possibility that this agent may precipitate or exacerbate vasculitis in some individuals has to be considered.