Nephropathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

In the not-so-distant past, type 2 diabetes mellitus was thought to be a relatively benign condition, at least in the elderly, with relatively little effect on life expectancy or renal function.1 It has now become obvious that type 2 diabetes must be taken every bit as seriously as type 1 diabetes, in part because of its renal complications.2 However, some recent and encouraging evidence indicates that diabetic nephropathy and deterioration of renal function are to a certain extent preventable.EpidemiologyAccording to the reports of the U.S. Renal Data System,3,4 in the past two decades there has been a . . .