Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this brief episode

I'm going to be talking to you about diabetic nephropathy. And if you want to follow along

with written notes on this topic, you can follow along at zerodefinals.com slash diabetic

netheropathy or in the renal section of the zero defiance medicine book.

So let's get straight in.

Diabetic nephropathy is the most common cause of glomerular pathology and chronic kidney

disease in the UK.

The basic pathophysiology of diabetic nephropathy is that the chronic high level of glucose

passing through the glomerulus leads to scarring of the glomerulis.

And this is called glomerulis sclerosis.

A key feature of diabetic nethropathy is protein urea.

So protein leaking through the glomerulus into the filtrate and out of the kidneys.

And this is due to damage to the glomerulist that allows protein to be filtered from the blood into the

urine. Patients with diabetes should have regular screening for diabetic nephropathy. And we can do

this by testing the albuming

creatinin ratio and the renal profile blood tests to use the needs.

So how do we manage diabetic nephropathy?

Well the mainstay of treatment is through optimizing the blood sugar levels and the blood pressure.

ACE inhibitors are the treatment of choice in diabetics when trying to control blood pressure

and ACE inhibitors should be started in patients who have diabetic nephropathy

even if they have a normal blood pressure because it leads to better overall outcomes.

So thanks for listening to this very brief episode on diabetic nephropathy.

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