What You Need to Know About Diabetic Nephropathy
According to the 2022 National Diabetes Statistics Report by the CDC, more than 130 million American adults are living with pre-diabetes and diabetes.
Unfortunately, 40% of these people develop diabetic nephropathy over time. This condition is the leading cause of kidney disease in patients that need renal replacement therapy.
What is Diabetic Nephropathy?
Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most serious complications of type 1 and 2 diabetes. Affecting the kidney’s ability to remove waste from the body, this condition can cause damage in the long run. This damage can lead to kidney disease that eventually becomes an end-stage renal failure.
At this point, the disease becomes life-threatening, and the patient will need to undergo dialysis and a kidney transplant.
In its early stages, you will not notice any signs and symptoms of diabetic nephropathy.
Eventually, you may experience swelling, a frequent need to urinate, loss of appetite, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and shortness of breath.
Laboratory tests will also show the presence of proteinuria >0.5 g/24 h and worsening blood pressure levels.
Diabetic Nephropathy Treatment and Prevention
Diabetic nephropathy can develop without you knowing it. One of the best ways to get a good prognosis is to visit your doctor regularly if you have diabetes.
It’s also important to watch out for any signs and symptoms and see your doctor right away.
Since diabetic nephropathy is a complication of type 1 and 2 diabetes, the first step is to treat and control diabetes and hypertension.
Aside from taking your medications religiously, it’s also very important to embrace lifestyle changes that will help prevent or delay complications like diabetic nephropathy and eventually, kidney failure.
If the condition gets worse, patients with end-stage kidney disease often undergo dialysis.
In some cases, patients can get a kidney transplant. Although, this is subject to eligibility and access to a matching donor.
But if you prefer not to go through any of these treatments, your doctor could recommend symptom management.
How Can Clinical Trials Help Patients with Diabetic Nephropathy?
Since type 1 and 2 diabetes is the root cause of diabetic nephropathy, treating this will help prevention.
Clinical trials are done by research organizations like NICR to help understand diabetes better and find better treatment and prevention plans that will help patients with diabetes and diabetic nephropathy live better-quality lives and even get back to good health.
Therefore, it’s essential to help research clinics by participating in trials that help medical experts develop new treatments and discover breakthroughs in the industry.
The National Institute of Clinical Research is an SMO/CRO with offices and labs in the following cities and states: New Jersey, North Carolina, Austin, San Diego, San Francisco, Bakersfield 93309, Fountain Valley 92708, Garden Grove 92840, Hacienda Heights 91745, Huntington Beach 92648, Las Vegas 89106, Long Beach 90806, Los Angeles 90048, Ontario 91762, Rosemead 91770, San Antonio 78207, Santa Ana 92704, Upland 91786, and Westminster 92683.
