Is lipid-lowering medicine useful to kidney disease

Hyperlipidemia is closely associated with kidney disease, it is a common clinical manifestation of a lot of primary or secondary kidney disease (CKD), at the same time itself is involved in the occurrence and development of kidney disease.

Hyperlipidemia not only increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease, but also accelerate the progress of kidney disease, so the lipid-lowering therapy has certain protective effect to kidney. Large numbers of studies recently have shown that statins have a number of roles except lipid-lowering,including anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and directly inhibit mesangial cell proliferation and mesangial matrix increase, which with no doubt is of great significance to slow down the progress of kidney disease. It is well recognised that hyperlipidemia is the third major factor besides high blood pressure and albuminuria, which can promote the progression of kidney disease.
Nephrotic syndrome, diabetes kidney disease and end-stage renal disease patients often have lipid metabolic abnormalities involved, the latter not only cause arteriosclerosis, promote the kidney disease progress, but also can increase the incidence of cardiovascular complications. Lipid-lowering drugs like statins can significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular events, whether with coronary or not, whatever basic lipid level is, statins can significantly reduce 23% of major vascular events. Which means statins is beneficial to improve the long-term prognosis of patients with ESRD. What’s more, statins is mainly excreted from liver and its renal excretion rate is less than 0.5%, which make statins relatively suitable for patients with kidney disease. In addition, studies have shown that it is safe and effective for patients with hypercholesterolemia nephrotic syndrome and hemodialysis to take statins constantly.
In view of all the above effects, statins can be widely used in many kinds of treatments in kidney disease, such as hyperplastic glomerulonephritis, ischemic renal disease, chronic kidney disease and polycystic kidney，etc.

Read more about : Early symptoms of diabetic nephropathy

What is the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy

The pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy is very complicated, realizing it can be beneficial for people to keep their eyes on precautions and nursing in the daily life. Next we will introduce three main pathogenesis for people to refer to.

Genetic background. Diabetes is a polygenetic disease, no matter type 1 diabetes or type 2, there is a high relationship with individual’s genetic background whether people will get diabetic nephropathy or not. Someone who has blood glucose and blood pressure under control still suffer from diabetic nephropathy, while someone even though not control blood glucose and blood pressure well, they never experience diabetic nephropathy, which implies that individual’s different genetic backgrounds have different susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy. The incidence of diabetic nephropathy also depends on racial and ethnic, for instance, Asian people have a higher incidence of kidney disease than Caucasians.
1. Hemodynamic changes. Hemodynamic has already changed at the early stage of diabetic nephropathy, it plays an important role in the formation of diabetic nephropathy. Hemodynamic changes are mainly reflected in high perfusion, high filtration and high pressure within the glomerulus, all of these factors make glomerular work under the higher load, if this situation lasts long, glomerular will become fat, the open areas of vasoganglion will increase, basement membrane of blood vessel will become thicken and permeability increase, and then it will proceed to proteinuria and glomerular sclerosis which eventually promote the formation of diabetic nephropathy.
2. Metabolic disorder and insulin resistance. The most basic pathological change of diabetes is sugar metabolic problems, in this situation sugar in the body is higher than the normal range. Unfortunately, blood sugar and high glucose in the blood is toxic, called the“toxic sugar”, which is mainly because too much glucose may activate some substance which is harmful to kidney, it is thus that cause the diabetic nephropathy.
Read more about: Prevention measures to stop diabetic nephropathy from occurring

What manifestations will appear in the skin when someone get diabetic nephropathy？

Diabetic nephropathy is a common complication of diabetes and one of the manifestations of diabetes systemic microvascular lesions, it is characterized by proteinuria, progressive renal damage, hypertension and edema in clinic. However, it will appear to have severe renal failure when it reaches an advanced stage. Diabetic nephropathy is also one of the main causes which can lead to death in diabetic patients.

If someone get diabetic nephropathy, the skin will show differences at the first time. What manifestations will appear in the skin when someone get diabetic nephropathy?
1. The neck folliculitis. For patients with diabetic nephropathy, many will appear an inflammation like pus heat rash in the posterior neck, which may cause patients feel a sense of tenderness and tend to develop boil or cellulitis. The skin will heal after discharging the pus, but it may relapse in the near future.
2. Erythema on the skin. Such symptoms are like burn blisters which have thin wall, contain transparent slurry and have no glow around the bubbles. Normally erythema grow on the back or bottom edge of the fingers, toes, hand and foot, it appear either single or multiple and heal in a few weeks, but will relapse again and again.
3. Foot gangrene. Patients with diabetic nephropathy can experience foot pain, not be able to feel temperature, dry and crack, tend to develop ulcer, the fester, necrosis or even occurred perforation and it is difficult to heal.
4. Abnormal sweating. Patients often sweat a lot for no apparent reason, and more in upper limbs or trunk. Some patients even have the symptom of dripping sweat.
5. Skin itch. Some diabetic nephropathy patients will experience the skin desquamation due to the desiccation systemically or locally.

Read more about: Early symptoms of diabetic nephropathy