Glomerular structural changes and structural-functional relationships at early stage of diabetic nephropathy in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients

摘要

Details of renal structural changes and structural- functional relationships at the early stage of diabetic neph- ropathy (DN) in type 2 diabetes are not well known. The present review focuses on these topics from previous studies using light and electron microscopic morphometric analysis. Glomerular hypertrophy, one of the histological changes in DN, is present in type as well as in type 1 diabetic patients. However, mechanisms of increased glomerular size might Be different from those in type 1 diabetes. Other typical Glomerular changes, glomerular basement membrane Thickening and mesangial expansion, are present in Normoalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients as a group.