Future strategies to prevent renal microvascular disease complications in diabetes

Nephropathy is one of the major chronic microvascular complications of diabetes. The epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and related incidence of end-stage renal disease is progressively increasing worldwide and represents a major public health concern that will seriously challenge any healthcare provider in the world. Despite a number of improvements in patient care, we are still unable to ameliorate or prevent the progression towards end-stage renal disease in the diabetic population. Hypertension and metabolic control appear to interact, resulting in the relentless decline in renal function observed in diabetic patients. Further understanding of the underlying mechanisms, and the development of new treatments against newly identified targets, is crucial for the prevention of this deadly microvascular diabetic complication.