Glomerular Lesions and Urinary Albumin Excretion in Type I Diabetes without Overt Proteinuria

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Since several studies have suggested that a slight increase in urinary albumin excretion (microalbuminuria) is predictive of nephropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus, we studied the relation of albumin excretion to renal structure in patients with insulin-dependent (Type I) diabetes. Renal biopsy specimens were evaluated with light- and electron-microscopical morphometric techniques in 48 patients who had had diabetes for 5 to 40 years and who excreted less than 200 mg of urinary albumin per 24 hours. Patients in Group I (n = 26) had normal urinary albumin excretion, creatinine clearance, and blood pressure; those in Group II (n = 10) had increased urinary albumin excretion but normal creatinine clearance and blood pressure; those in Group III (n = 12) had increased urinary albumin excretion and hypertension, decreased creatinine clearance, or both.