a progressive condition in diabetics in which blood vessels in the kidney, which act as part of the kidney's filtration system, become irreparably damaged over time. Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease.
Diabetic nephropathy (nephropatia diabetica), also known as Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome and intercapillary glomerulonephritis, is a progressive kidney disease caused by angiopathy of capillaries in the kidney glomeruli. It is characterized by nodular glomerulosclerosis. It is due to longstanding diabetes mellitus, and is a prime cause for dialysis in many Western countries.