Racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of proteinuric and nonproteinuric diabetic kidney disease

Cardiovascular risk profiles in Type 2 diabetes and the impact of geographical setting

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a leading morbidity and mortality in Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Previous studies have shown geographic differences in the prevalence of CV and renal diseases. A literature review of longitudinal (≥5 years) studies including ≥1000 T2DM patients and reporting CV endpoints was performed to compare risk profiles. Key differences between geographies included a relatively higher prevalence of microalbuminuria in East Asian relative to North American and European patients, which in turn is an important CV risk factor. Patients from East Asia also have a relatively higher incidence of stroke and lower incidence of coronary heart disease. Overall, there are differences in CV risk in T2DM patients between different regions and that long-term studies from Africa, the Middle East and Latin America are lacking.

Effects of sevelamer carbonate on advanced glycation end products and antioxidant/pro-oxidant status in patients with diabetic kidney disease

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The primary goals were to re-examine whether sevelamer carbonate (SC) reduces advanced glycation end products (AGEs) (methylglyoxal and carboxymethyllysine [CML]), increases antioxidant defenses, reduces pro-oxidants, and improves hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Secondary goals examined albuminuria, age, race, sex, and metformin prescription.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS

This two-center, randomized, intention-to-treat, open-label study evaluated 117 patients with T2DM (HbA1c >6.5%) and stages 2-4 DKD (urinary albumin/creatinine ratio ≥200 mg/g) treated with SC (1600 mg) or calcium carbonate (1200 mg), three times a day, without changing medications or diet. Statistical analyses used linear mixed models adjusted for randomization levels. Preselected subgroup analyses of sex, race, age, and metformin were conducted.

RESULTS

SC lowered serum methylglyoxal (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.72 to -0.29; P<0.001), serum CML (95% CI, -5.08 to -1.35; P≤0.001), and intracellular CML (95% CI, -1.63 to -0.28; P=0.01). SC increased anti-inflammatory defenses, including nuclear factor like-2 (95% CI, 0.58 to 1.29; P=0.001), AGE receptor 1 (95% CI, 0.23 to 0.96; P=0.001), NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-1 (95% CI, 0.20 to 0.86; P=0.002), and estrogen receptor α (95% CI, 1.38 to 2.73; P ≤0.001). SC also decreased proinflammatory factors such as TNF receptor 1 (95% CI, -1.56 to -0.72; P≤0.001) and the receptor for AGEs (95% CI, -0.58 to 1.53; P≤0.001). There were no differences in HbA1c, GFR, or albuminuria in the overall group. Subanalyses showed that SC lowered HbA1c in women (95% CI, -1.71 to -0.27; P=0.01, interaction P=0.002), and reduced albuminuria in those aged <65 years (95% CI, -1.15 to -0.07; P=0.03, interaction P=0.02) and non-Caucasians (95% CI, -1.11 to -0.22; P=0.003, interaction P≤0.001), whereas albuminuria increased after SC and calcium carbonate in Caucasians.

CONCLUSIONS

SC reduced circulating and cellular AGEs, increased antioxidants, and decreased pro-oxidants, but did not change HbA1c or the albumin/creatinine ratio overall in patients with T2DM and DKD. Because subanalyses revealed that SC may reduce HbA1c and albuminuria in some patients with T2DM with DKD, further studies may be warranted.