Soluble RAGE, diabetic nephropathy and genetic variability in the AGER gene.

Diabetes mellitus, especially when complicated with decline of renal function due to diabetic nephropathy (DN), is associated with accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) exerting their adverse effects via receptor of AGE (RAGE). Soluble RAGE (sRAGE) is a truncated form of RAGE functioning as an inhibitor of AGE-mediated signalling. We studied relationships between sRAGE, renal function and genetic variability in the AGER gene in diabetic subjects.

Prevalence and risk of hypertension in renal disease--data from the Czech Registry of Renal Biopsies.

Background/aims: We intended to compare the risk and prevalence of hypertension in patients undergoing renal biopsy with those of the general population and to investigate the possible effects of various independent factors (age, sex and degree of renal insufficiency) on the prevalence of hypertension.

Methods: Data obtained within the Czech Registry of Renal Biopsies over an 8-year period (1995-2002) were statistically evaluated and compared with those of the general population obtained within the Post-MONICA Study conducted in 2000/2001.

Results: Hypertension was present in 1,839 out of a total of 3,601 renal patients (51.

Haplotype analysis of the RAGE gene: identification of a haplotype marker for diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) represents a devastating complication of diabetes. Family clustering, heterogeneity in the onset and progression and results of segregation studies indicate that susceptibility to DN is a complex trait.

Methods: Common single nucleotide polymorphisms in the RAGE (receptor of advanced glycation end-products) gene (-429T/C, -374T/A, G82S, 1704G/T, 2184A/G and 2245G/A) were studied in the association study comprising 605 Caucasian subjects by means of haplotype analysis in order to identify an eventual haplotype marker for DN in type 2 diabetes.

Oral sulodexide reduces albuminuria in microalbuminuric and macroalbuminuric type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients: the Di.N.A.S. randomized trial.

Diabetic nephropathy may be effectively prevented and treated by controlling glycemia and administering angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. However, strict metabolic control can be difficult, and ACE inhibitors may be poorly tolerated and only partially effective, particularly in diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2), warranting the search for ancillary treatment. Sulodexide is a glycosaminoglycan, a new class of drug that has demonstrated nephroprotective activity in experimental investigations.