Pathophysiology of Diabetic Nephropathy

Overview

The epidemic increase of diabetic nephropathy stimulated also the interest in pathophysiological mechanisms thatlead to the development of the disease. The main interest is concentrated on the glycosylation of proteins and lipids,activation of intracellular enzyme cascades (protein kinase C, aldosoreductase) and the effect of vasoactivecompounds (NO, prostanoids, angiotensin II) and growth factors. Cytokines are also of great importance. Every newpiece of information is used in search for new modes of therapy, but most of them remain at the stage of experiments.

Key words:
diabetic nephropathies, protein kinase C, aldosoreductase, prostanoids, nitric oxide, cytokines.