Kidney Function After Improved Metabolic Control in Newly Diagnosed Diabetes and in Diabetic Patients with Nephropathy

To evaluate the effect of improved metabolic control on kidney function, urinary excretion rate of β-2- microglobulin, lysozyme, and γ-glutamyltransferase were evaluated in nine poorly controlled, newly diagnosed diabetic patients before and during treatment. In six poorly controlled insulin-dependent nephropathic diabetic patients, besides the parameters cited above, urinary albumin excretion rate and IgG/transferrin clearance ratio were further investigated to estimate the permeability and the selectivity of glomerular barrier during conventional treatment and after improvement of the metabolic control by a glucose-controlled insulin infusion system (GCIIS). The improved glycemic control resulted in a significant reduction of urinary β-2-microglobulin and lysozyme excretion in all diabetic patients. Significant decreases of urinary albumin excretion and of IgG/transferrin clearance ratio (indicating a more selective proteinuria) during strict metabolic control were also observed in nephropathic diabetic patients. The reduction of urinary β-2-microglobulin and lysozyme excretion indicates that a tubular reabsorptive dysfunction, reversible with the amelioration of glycemic control, can be observed in poorly controlled, newly diagnosed and in insulin-dependent nephropathic diabetic patients during conventional treatment. In the latter patients, the permeability and the selectivity properties of glomerular barrier also improved during GCIIS.