Abstract: Objective  To observe the efficacy and safety of liraglutide on renal function in patients with microalbuminuria of diabetic nephropathy(DN). Methods  A total of  86  DN patients with microalbuminuria were randomly divided into two groups. The control group was given conventional therapy, while the observation group got liraglutide combined with conventional therapy. After six months of treatment,  comparison in two groups was made  in body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2 h postprandial blood glucose (PBG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting insulin (FINS) and insulin resistance index (HOMAIR), urinary albumin excretion rate (UMAER), serum creatinine (SCr), the calculation of urine protein creatinine ratio (ACR) and glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Results  Before the treatment, there was no significant difference in blood glucose and renal function indexes between two groups (P>0.05).  After the  treatment, both groups saw decreases in BMI, FBG, PBG, HbA1c, HOMAIR, BUN, SCr, UMAER and ACR , while FINS and eGFR levels  increased (P<0.05),  the improvement in observation group was more significant (P<0.01). The incidence of hypoglycemia in observation group was lower than that of control group. Conclusion   Liraglutide can protect the kidney by bringing down the blood glucose to an approapriate level, and improve renal function, and the probability of hypoglycemia is low.

Key words: diabetic nephropathy, albuminuria, renal function, blood sugar