Diabetes Care, Vol 15, Issue 9 1216-1225, Copyright © 1992 by American Diabetes Association
Diabetic nephropathy. Future avenue
GC Viberti, J Yip-Messent and A Morocutti
Unit for Metabolic Medicine, United Medical School, Guy's Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
Diabetes mellitus has become the leading cause of ESRF in the United
States. Patients with diabetic nephropathy suffer high cardiovascular
morbidity and mortality. Because only 40% of diabetic patients eventually
develop diabetic kidney disease, it may be possible to devise primary
prevention measures targeted at the subset of patients at risk. Recently, a
predisposition to hypertension, a family history of diabetic nephropathy,
and a family history of CVD disease each have been associated independently
with the development of diabetic renal complication in IDDM. Risk factors
for macrovascular damage, including raised arterial BP, dyslipidemia, and
insulin resistance, can be detected early in the course of progression to
diabetic nephropathy. These risk indicators recently have been shown to be
already present at the stage of normoalbuminuria in those patients who
eventually will progress to microalbuminuria. Treatment of established
renal disease can only delay the onset of ESRF, and lowering of
microalbuminuria has been shown to retard the onset of persistent
proteinuria. However, no study to date has demonstrated prevention of renal
disease in these patients. The ultimate aim should, therefore, be the
prevention of the transition from normoalbuminuria to microalbuminuria in
individuals who are at higher risk of diabetic renal disease and CVD.