Diabetic nephropathy in Japan

According to a nation-wide survey of dialysis patients in Japan the number of diabetic patients with end-stage renal failure introduced to dialysis therapy has been increasing year by year, exceeding 6000 cases (28% of total cases) in 1991. A six-fold increase in numbers and a three-fold increase in percentages (DM/total) were observed in the past ten years. Although the medical technology and regimen in dialysis therapy have been greatly improved, the prognosis of those diabetic patients on maintenance dialysis has remained unsatisfactory. Their quality of life has been severely damaged mostly because of the impairment of visual acuity. The early detection and early introduction of effective therapy for diabetic nephropathy, therefore, may be the most imminent tasks necessary to prevent the various problems afflicting diabetic patients on end-stage renal failure.