What is Diabetic Nephropathy?

What is Diabetic Nephropathy?

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is typically defined by macroalbuminuria—that is, a urinary albumin excretion of more than 300 mg in a 24-hour collection—or macroalbuminuria and abnormal renal function as represented by an abnormality in serum creatinine, calculated creatinine clearance, or glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

Causes of Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetes has become the primary cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).Each of your kidneys has about one million nephrons. Nephrons are small structures that filter waste from your blood. Diabetes can cause the nephrons to thicken and scar, which makes them less able to filter waste and remove fluid from the body. This causes them to leak a type of protein called albumin into your urine, leading to diabetic nephropathy.

The second causes of this diseases occurs in people with diabetes in high blood sugar levels and high blood pressure which are thought to contribute to diabetic nephropathy. Persistently high blood sugar or blood pressure levels can damage your kidneys, making them unable to filter wastes and remove water from your body.

The third causes is kidney failure. Because the kidneys have many tiny blood vessels that filter waste from your blood, High blood sugar from diabetes can destroy these blood vessels. Over time, the kidney isn't able to do its job as well. Later it may stop working completely.

The last reasons is about Certain things make you more likely to get diabetic nephropathy. If you also have high cholesterol, or if you smoke, your risk is higher.