[Diabetic nephropathy: emerging treatments]

Abstract

Diabetic nephropathy is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide. The mainstay of treatment has been management of hyperglycaemia, blood pressure and proteinuria using hypoglycemic agents, ACE inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers. Since 2000, new therapeutic strategies began to emerge targeting the biochemical activity of glucose molecules on the renal tissue. Various substances have been studied with varying degrees of success, ranging from vitamin B to camel's milk. Silymarin reduces urinary excretion of albumin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and malondialdehyde in patients with diabetic nephropathy and may be considered as a novel addition to the anti-diabetic nephropathy armamentarium. Although some results are promising, studies on a larger scale are needed to validate the utility of these molecules in the treatment of the DN.

Keywords: Agents nouveaux; Chronic kidney disease; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic nephropathy therapy; Diabète sucré; Maladie rénale chronique; Novel agents; Traitement de la néphropathie diabétique.