The administration of an adequate dose of vitamin A, especially in patients with type 1 diabetes, can reduce the risk of developing diabetic nephropathy, that is, kidney damage, said expert Jose Luis Reyes Sánchez.
“This vitamin reduces the general inflammatory state of the subject with diabetes, and particularly in the kidney,” explained Reyes Sánchez, of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav).
The specialist conducted a four-year investigation to find an alternative to the risk of kidney damage in people with diabetes.
To do this, he studied in animal models the benefits offered by acid retionic, active form of vitamin A, and confirmed that its use can contribute to protect and reduce the oxidative process of the kidney.
In the investigation two groups of animals were divided where renal damage was induced. One part was given vitamin A and the rest served as a control group.
“In the first of them we saw that it evolved better and recovered faster, we saw that the damage was less serious,” he said.
The expert indicated that if a patient develops renal insufficiency, it is not possible to offer a curative treatment, reason why one of its lines of investigation is oriented to prevent the aggravation of the renal damage from its first stages.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), worldwide there are about 500 million people with diabetes, of whom about 40% are at risk for severe kidney damage.
This type of complications cause that at some point the patient requires dialysis, a medical treatment to eliminate harmful substances of the organism due to a failure of the kidney.
In Mexico, according to information from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), about 80,000 people die each year from kidney disease.
Renal insufficiency is a health problem not only for people with diabetes, but also for public institutions.
In Mexico, it is estimated that 16% of the budget of health institutions is devoted to the maintenance and operation of devices used in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, as well as to the integral care of the diabetic patient.
