NEPHROPATHY IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS, PREDICTORS OF OUTCOME

Nephropathy is a major cause of illness and death of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), the excess being confined to proteinuric patients due to complications of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and particularly due to cardiovascular events [1]. Diabetic nephropathy is the single most common cause of ESRD in the United States and more than one third of all patients enrolled in the Medicare ESRD program are actually diabetics [2]. It derives that costs of renal replacement therapy for diabetics alone is a major public health issue, approaching almost epidemic proportions for type 2 DM in Western countries [3;4].