When sugar damages kidneys: New hope for diabetes patients with kidney disease
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common secondary diseases in modern society. Diabetes patients do not die as a direct result of the increase in blood sugar, but from the long-term complications of their disease, in which the increase in blood sugar causes damage to blood vessels and organs. Kidneys are particularly susceptible to damage, and this can lead to a loss in kidney function and the need to begin a dialysis treatment. Researchers have identified a signaling path that affects the progression of kidney disease in diabetes patients: mTOR is an important metabolic enzyme that controls similar functions in simple organisms, such as yeast and roundworms, as in humans. In tests on animals, the deliberate genetic interception of this signaling path was able to halt the progression of kidney disease.