ESTIMATION OF HIGH SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVELS AS A EARLY MARKER OF DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY

Dr. Likitesh A. B.*, Dr. Prabhakar K., Dr. Reddy Prasad K. and Dr. Prasanna Kumar

ABSTRACT

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the major long-term complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). Type 2 DM is frequently associated with an inflammatory status, but limited information is available on the relationship between low-grade inflammation and DN. The aim of the study is to determine the serum level of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) patients with diabetes with microalbuminuria and to compare with patients with diabetes without microalbuminuria. Forty diabetic patients in the age group of 50– 70 years with more than ten years of duration of diabetes were recruited for this study and 40 age- and sex-matched diabetics without microalbyminuria were included in this study as controls. Serum hsCRP levels were measured by turbidometry method. There was a statistically significant increase in serum hsCRP levels in diabetic patients with microalbuminuria cases as compared to normal controls. These results suggest that estimation of serum hsCRP levels and aiming at good glycemic control help in early intervention and prevention of further complications in diabetic patients.

Keywords: Diabetic nephropathy, hs – CRP, Microalbuminuria, Good glycemic control