MicroalbuminuriaModerately increased albuminuria, Albumin-to-creatinine ratioSmall amounts of the protein albumin leaking into urine — the earliest detectable sign that diabetes is affecting the kidneys.
Diabetic nephropathy
Pronounced nef-ROP-uh-thee
Also known as Diabetic kidney disease, DKD
Kidney damage caused by diabetes. It is silent in the early stages and is found by a urine test, not by symptoms.
The kidneys filter blood through millions of tiny vessel tufts. Years of high scar them, and the first measurable sign is small amounts of protein leaking into the urine — .
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide. It is also, caught early, one of the most treatable.
The tests that find it
- Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, at least once a year
- Blood with eGFR, to estimate filtering capacity
Related terms
- CreatinineSerum creatinine, S. CrCreatinine is a waste product from normal muscle activity that the kidneys filter out of the blood. Because healthy kidneys clear it steadily, the level in blood is the standard everyday measure of how well they are working.
- ProteinuriaProtein in urine, AlbuminuriaProteinuria means protein is leaking into the urine, which healthy kidneys prevent. It is one of the earliest signs of kidney damage, often appearing long before any symptom does.
- HypertensionHigh blood pressure, Blood pressure ka marzHypertension is blood pressure that stays high enough, over repeated proper measurements, to damage the arteries over time. It almost never causes symptoms, which is why it is found by measuring rather than by feeling unwell.