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DIETARY PROTEIN RESTRICTION SLOWS PROGRESSION OF DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY.

Evidence from animal experiments and several human studies suggests that restriction of dietary protein and phosphorus may retard the progression of chronic renal failure. However, many of these studies did not distinguish between different causes of nephropathy, which may have different rates of progression that confound the results. This randomized trial compared a protein- and phosphorus- restricted diet with a normal diet in 35 patients with Type I diabetes, all of whom had proteinuria (more than 500 mg of urinary protein per day) and no other cause of renal failure.

During the mean follow-up period of about three years, patients on the restricted diet had a significantly slower rate of decline of renal function and less proteinuria than the control patients. There were no differences between groups in nutritional status, glycemic control, or progression of retinopathy.

These results add to a growing body of evidence that dietary manipulations, along with control of blood pressure, are useful in mitigating one of the most dreaded complications of diabetes.

— ASB

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine January 22, 1991

Citation(s):

Zeller K et al. Effect of restricting dietary protein on the progression of renal failure in patients with insulin- dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 1991 Jan 10 324 78-84.

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