The early suspension of Altitude trial in recent years has induced most nephrologists and cardiologists to abandon Aliskiren use. Consequently, the potential usefulness of the direct renin inhibition in IgA glomerulonephritis remained an under-investigated therapeutic option.
We report the case of a 53 years old IgA GMN patient unresponsive to all conventional anti-angiotensin-2 agents, steroids and immunosuppressants, in which the administration of Aliskiren permitted to achieve and maintain a complete proteinuria remission in the absence of any adverse event.
Aliskiren might represent a valid and safe therapeutic option in IgA GMN, although further investigations would be needed to confirm this conclusion.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of age and sex on the reporting of cough and angioedema related to renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors. A case/noncase study was performed in VigiBase. Two case groups were identified, reports of cough and reports of angioedema, and noncases were all reports of all other adverse events. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between reporting of cough and angioedema with each class of RAS inhibitors stratified by age/sex and to control for confounding. The reporting of cough with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors was significantly higher in women than in men [adjusted reporting odds ratio (ROR): 44.0, 95% CI (43.2-44.8) for women vs. 29.2, 95% CI (28.5-29.9) for men]. There was no difference in reporting of cough linked to angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and aliskiren between men and women. In contrast, the reporting of angioedema with ACE inhibitors and ARBs was significantly higher in men than in women, but for aliskiren, women had a significantly higher ROR than men [adjusted ROR: 5.20, 95% CI (4.18-6.46) for women vs. 3.04, 95% CI (2.30-4.02) for men]. The reporting of cough with ACE inhibitors was increased with age until reaching a plateau at middle adulthood (40-59 years) and the reporting of angioedema with ACE inhibitors was increased with age until elderly (60-79 years). Age had only a slight effect on the reporting of cough and angioedema with ARBs and aliskiren. Both age and sex have substantial effects on the reporting of cough and angioedema with RAS inhibitors and in particular ACE inhibitors. Further study is needed to determine whether these differences mainly express different adverse drug reaction risks in subgroups or also can be explained by factors influencing reporting.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the postmarketing safety profile of aliskiren hemifumarate, a first-in-class direct renin inhibitor.
METHODS: The US Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) was utilized to conduct a retrospective pharmacovigilance analysis by applying the Multi-item Gamma Poisson Shrinker data mining algorithm to calculate empiric Bayes geometric mean (EBGM) values of aliskiren-related adverse event reports. Reports received from January 2007 through December 2008 are included in this analysis.
RESULTS: In total, 1592 reports for aliskiren are identified in the AERS. Aliskiren was associated with reports of angioedema (EBGM 3.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.2-4.7) and renal dysfunction (EBGM 3.4, 95% CI 2.6-4.5). Reports of hyperkalemia, dry cough, and diarrhea were also linked to aliskiren (EBGM 7.4, 95% CI 3.4-13.0, EBGM 11.0, 95% CI 7.8-14.2, EBGM 4.3, 95% CI 3.2-5.8, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: Angioedema and renal dysfunction are potential adverse events associated with exposure to aliskiren. Patients with signs and symptoms of angioedema should stop aliskiren and seek urgent medical help. Aliskiren should not be used by patients with a risk of renal impairment. Additional studies are warranted to quantify further the risk of these events in patients with hypertension.