According to a recent study, large doses of the blood pressure drug, Atacand, may protect people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from developing kidney failure and the need for dialysis or transplantation. Daily doses of eight times the normal amount of the drug, also known as candesartan, lowered abnormal amounts of protein in the urine, called proteinuria.
 
Researchers believe the reduction of proteinuria makes the patient less likely to develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Reducing protein in urine also cuts the risk of cardiovascular disease. 

This article originally appeared in the March 2009 issue of Kidney Beginnings: The Electronic Newsletter.