Beneficial Effect of Verapamil in Ischemic Acute Renal Failure in the Rat

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Abstract
To investigate the possible protective effect of Ca2+ blockers in ischemic acute renal failure (ARF), verapamil, in a dose of 10 .mu.g/kg body wt per min was administered for 100 min, starting 15 min before the total occlusion of the left renal artery after right nephrectomy in rats. Mean 24-h creatinine clearance, blood urea and serum creatinine levels, 24 h after declamping, were used as a measure of kidney function. These values which were 135 .+-. 1.9 .mu.l/min, 231 .+-. 22 and 2.25 .+-. 0.22 mg%, respectively, in the untreated rats, were significantly different, i.e., 326.3 .+-. 33.2 .mu.l/min, P < 0.001, 112 .+-. 25 mg%, P < 0.001 and 1.26 .+-. 0.28 mg%, P < 0.01, respectively, in the verapamil-treated animals. Increased 24-h total urine creatinine, Na+, osmolality and a lower fractional Na+ excretion were also observed in the verapamil-treated rats with ARF. The combination of propranolol 1 mg/kg body wt per min and verapamil 10 .mu.g/kg body wt per min for 100 min had no additive effect on renal function. In another group of ARF rats in which verapamil was started after declamping, no alleviating effect was observed. Evidently verapamil, an inhibitor of cellular membrane transport, when given prior to the renal ischemia, offers a partial but significant protection in this model of ischemic ARF.