Diabetic nephropathy is a description of the damage to a person's kidneys that can occur due to diabetes mellitus, more commonly called diabetes. The damage to the kidneys interferes with normal kidney function.

What is going on in the body?

The kidney is made up of several million filtering units. Each filtering unit contains a membrane to filter the blood, which is how urine is made. Diabetes, which is a condition that causes high blood sugar levels, can slowly damage these filtering membranes. The exact mechanism of this kidney damage is unknown. As this condition gets worse over time, kidney failure may occur.

What are the causes and risks of the condition?

Diabetes mellitus, or diabetes, causes this condition. It can occur in people whether or not they take insulin for their diabetes. However, this condition occurs in a greater percentage of people with type 1 diabetes. Tight control of the blood sugar can help people delay or avoid the onset of kidney damage and slow its progression. The more out of control the blood sugar is over time, the more likely kidney damage is to occur.