Diabetic nephropathy and multiorgan protection. Part I.

Diabetic nephropathy, one of the most important complications of diabetes mellitus, requires during its evolution protective measures defined as renoprotective. Since the complications of diabetes mellitus are not limited to diabetic nephropathy and as this is frequently associated with heart complications that require protective measures defined as cardioprotective, neurologic measures that require neuroprotection of the retina, of the large vessels etc., much more complex protective measures are necessary. The metabolic complications that are usually at the basis of the other complications at the level of the cell also impose measures of protection. Such an approach can have important practical consequences. It is a well-known fact that most patients with chronic kidney disease--CKD--do not reach final stages as in the meantime they decease because of cardiovascular diseases. Consequently, cardioprotective measures have to be associated with renoprotective ones, as well as protective measures that address other organs, in close connection with protective measures at metabolic level. The protective measures must also address to microcirculation, diabetic nephropathy being a disease that primarily affects microcirculation. Diabetes mellitus also frequently affects the large vessels, the circulatory system being usually affected in its complexity. The paper represents a synthesis of multiorganprotective measures in diabetic nephropathy, in diabetes mellitus, respectively, the concept of multiorgan protection finding in this disease an ideal domain of expression. The first part gives the main multiorgan measures: monitoring of blood pressure and, mainly, protection by means of the renine aldosterone (RAAS) system, multiorgan by intensive monitoring of glycaemia and by treatment of proteinuria. The second part presents the other protective measures used in diabetic nephropathy.