Pentoxifylline is often used to treat diabetic neuropathy, a complication of Type 2 diabetes, usually described as numbness and a feeling of pins and needles in the feet.
It works by helping red blood cells to enter tiny blood vessels, or capillaries, in the limbs.
According to new research reported on in the Journal of the Society of Nephrology in July 2014, the drug could also find a place for treating diabetic kidney disease.
Kidney disease is the leading cause of kidney failure in the United States.
Over 35 percent of adults with Type 2 diabetes have chronic kidney disease, which means the kidneys do not filter water and waste products out of the body well enough...

• too much fluid in the body can lead to high blood pressure, and
• waste products in the blood can cause other health problems such as malnutrition.
  
• normal blood protein is lost in the urine and patients can develop protein deficiency.
  

Researchers at the University Hospital Nuestra Senora de Candelaria in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, studied 169 participants with Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease...

• 87 Type 2 diabetics received a placebo while
• 82 received pentoxifylline.
  

All the participants were also treated with renin-angiotensin system blockade, the standard therapy for lowering blood pressure and protecting kidneys in diabetic patients.
After two years kidney function...

• decreased less in the group taking pentoxifylline than
• in the group taking their usual medications alone.
  

The amount of protein in the urine of the pentoxifylline group went down, indicating the kidneys were doing a better job of filtering the blood.
Tumor necrosis factor alpha, an indicator of inflammation, went down in the urine of the pentoxifylline group as well.
From these results it was concluded adding pentoxifylline to the standard treatment provided more protection for the kidneys than standard treatment alone.
Pentoxifylline, also called by the brand names Trental, Pentox, Pentoxil, and Flexital, is available by prescription.
It comes in tablet form and is taken three times a day to avoid stomach upset.
Side effects include...

• nausea,
• vomiting,
• gas,
• dizziness,
• headache,
• chest pain, and
• overly fast heartbeat.
  

If you have diabetic kidney disease, pentoxifylline is a medication to consider discussing with your doctor.
Other ways of preventing and controlling chronic kidney disease have to do with staying healthy in general...

• a healthy low-salt diet will help keep blood pressure under control,
• controlling weight, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels also help keep the kidneys from deteriorating.
  

Staying active will help with blood pressure, diabetes, weight, cholesterol and, yes, chronic kidney disease, so take a walk every day.