Publication:

Cystatin C in the early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy and its correlation with albuminuria

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) refers to a group of common metabolic disorders that share the phenotype of hyperglycaemia. The metabolic dysregulations associated with DM causes secondary pathophysiological changes in multiple organ systems which result in various complications, responsible for the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease.

Methods The present study was undertaken in the Department of Medicine in collaboration with the Department of Biochemistry, of SGRDIMSR, Vallah, Sri Amritsar, Punjab, India. The present hospital based study was undertaken with a total number of 100 patients.

Results The mean Cystatin C values in Group A were 1.73 and mean Cystatin C values in group B were 2.07. The results show that the Cystatin C values were raised even in the patients in whom clinical albuminuria had not yet started.

Conclusions serum Cystatin C may be considered as an early marker, than microalbuminuria and serum creatinine, the commonly used marker for nephropathy, for declining renal function, in diabetic subjects. Further studies in larger population are needed to confirm this result.