Washington [US], July 1 (ANI): A 7- to 15-year longitudinal study of 358 diabetics has linked 3 proteins in the blood to slower progression of diabetic kidney disease and progressive kidney failure.
Led by a team of researchers from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the results suggest the proteins could help researchers identify diabetics who are most at risk of kidney damage and potentially enable earlier interventions and treatments.
Despite advances in blood sugar control and kidney therapy, patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are still at high risk of developing diabetic kidney disease. This condition can eventually progress to end-stage kidney disease, but some patients have slower kidney decline than others.
In recent years, scientists have focused on understanding why some people move more slowly and whether they may contain proteins that protect the kidneys from the effects of diabetes.
As part of the Joslin Kidney Study, Md Dom et al. This was followed by two groups of patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and varying degrees of severity of diabetic kidney disease (358 in total) between 7 and 15 years of age.
By analyzing more than 1,000 proteins in the patients’ plasma, the researchers discovered that patients with slow progression had higher levels of the proteins ANGPT1, TNFSF12 and FGF20.
The team confirmed this protective association in an independent group of 294 type 1 diabetics; They also found that FGF20 was elevated in healthy, nondiabetic parents of type 1 diabetics who remained free of kidney complications. If validated in larger studies, this finding could “have a profound impact on future research into determinants of progressive renal deterioration [type 1 diabetes]“Said the authors.
However, they warn that more studies are needed to confirm a causal link between the 3 proteins and protection against diabetic kidney disease. (ANI)
