Medical Progression on New Treatment Target for Diabetic Nephropathy

Recently, exploration and research on the new therapeutic target for Diabetic Nephropathy, a leading cause of kidney failure, was made by the researchers. Their findings, published on the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (ISAN), may help people with Diabetes to protect their kidney health and prevent onset of kidney failure.

Diabetic Nephropathy, or diabetic kidney disease, is a long-term chronic complication caused by Diabetes. While it is currently not clear precisely how diabetes damages the kidneys, the researchers in their exploration suggests that one particular inflammatory molecule, osteopontin, seems to play a dominant role in the pathogenesis, thus making it a potential target of treatment for future therapies.

In their research, Daisuke Ogawa, MD, PhD(Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in Japan) and his colleges made an attempt to inhibit osteopontin expression, and they tried to activate a receptor that blocks the expression of the genes involved in inflammation. The receptor, known as liver x receptor, can be activated by a drug named as T0901317.

In experimental trail, diabetic mice with kidney disease were given T0901317, and the result suggests that T0901317 can markedly decrease expression of osteoponin and other inflammatory factors within the kidneys. The animals’ kidneys became healthier and function better after the treatment. “Those observations”, as is pointed by Dr. Ogama, “ support an important role for LXR agonists in suppressing the inflammatory responses in diabetic kidneys and preventing the development of kidney disease”.

Diabetic Nephropathy is a threatening complication of Diabetes that could cause kidney failure. For people with Diabetes, early screening tests, especially microalbuminuria examination, are deniable currently in helping people to detect risks of kidney damage for people with Diabetes. Early prevention detection and timely treatment is the best way for people to improve their prognosis. More medical progression on the way, and the research result may help people in better effective prevention for Diabetic Nephropathy.