Blood pressure drugs could help repair damaged kidneys

LONDON - A study has found that blood pressure drugs could be used to repair damaged kidneys.

The study was conducted by the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Bergamo, Italy.

The trial on 112 patients showed that the half who were given an ACE inhibitor were less likely to go on to kidney failure than those who received standard treatment, reports telegraph.co.uk.

If the trials are successful, researchers believe that the treatment could cut the numbers who need a kidney transplant every year or who are on constant dialysis.

While writing in journal Lancet, the researchers also suggested that stem cells could some day be used to allow damaged kidneys to repair themselves.