Protect your kidneys from diabetes

Majority of people with diabetes will develop severe kidney disease that could lead to kidney failure. Kidney failure is a situation in which the organs fail to filter the blood. This requires either a kidney transplant or dialysis treatment.

Diabetes is the single most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in adults, accounting for 35-40 percent of new cases each year.

High blood glucose damages the kidneys’ filters. When the kidneys are damaged, the protein leaks out of the kidneys into the urine. Damaged kidneys do not do a good job of cleaning out waste and extra fluids. Not enough waste and fluids go out of the body as urine. Instead, they build up in the blood.

An early sign of kidney damage is when your kidneys leak small amounts of a protein called albumin into the urine. With more damage, the kidneys leak more and more protein, a problem medically known as proteinuria. When this medical condition gets worse, it leads to diabetic nephropathy or kidney failure.

The onset and progression of diabetic nephropathy can be slowed by intensive management of diabetes, specifically keeping blood glucose down. It is best to control glucose by addressing insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction which are the underlying causes of diabetes.

Insulin resistance is a condition wherein the body fails to respond to the circulating insulin effectively, while beta-cell dysfunction is characterized by the pancreas’ inability to produce adequate insulin.

To reach blood sugar levels recommended by experts, many people with type 2 diabetes will need to take a combination of therapies that treat diabetes in different ways.

According to the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS), approximately half of all patients on monotherapy will require multiple drugs to control the disease within three years.

The combination of rosiglitazone and metformin has been proven to target insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction. As an adjunct to diet and exercise, the combination is indicated to improve blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes who are already treated with rosiglitazone and metformin as separate tablets or who are not adequately controlled on metformin alone.

The beneficial effect of early combination therapy is seen in the EMPIRE (Escalation of Metformin versus Initiation of Rosiglitazone Early) study comparing the effects of metformin and the early addition of rosiglitazone to metformin.

Results of the study showed that more patients reached their targeted blood sugar levels with the early addition of rosiglitazone to metformin than those who are receiving the maximum dose of metformin alone.

Kidney disease and diabetes are serious problems that spare no country and no racial, ethnic or age group. According to the International Diabetes Foundation, more than 194 million people now live with diabetes worldwide, and by 2025, more than 333 million will have the disease if steps are not taken to prevent it.

Patients with type 2 diabetes should consult their doctors to learn more about new treatments that could potentially put a stop to the disease’s progression.