(nef-rah'-puh-thee): Kidney failure resulting from diabetes. Damaged blood vessels make the kidneys unable to filter toxins properly so that the nephrons of the kidney become diseased.

Kidney dysfunction in an individual with diabetes

Diabetic nephropathy is a deterioration of the kidneys caused by proliferated growth and subsequent bursting of the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys. In its early stages, diabetic nephropathy has no clinical signs or symptoms. After many years of diabetes the delicate filtering system in the kidneys becomes destroyed, initially becoming leaky to large blood proteins such as albumin which are then lost in urine. This is more likely to occur if the blood sugar is poorly controlled. Approximately 10% of diabetics in the United States suffer from diabetic nephropathy.