Diabetes Affects Kidney

Tips to control Diabetes and retain a healthy kidney:

Did you know...Diabetes affects the kidney? Diabetic nephropathy is one of the significant specific complications of diabetes. Around 30 to 50 percent of people with kidney failure are diabetics.

Uncontrolled high blood sugar for long span of time produces functional and later structural changes in the kidneys. But what is unfortunate is that the changes occurring in kidneys are not clinically observable to the treating doctor. The symptom the patient show until the kidney function is harshly affected and the disease has reached an irreversible phase.

Urine test is one trendy way of detecting early kidney damage in diabetes through Presence of albumin leak in urine is called albuminuria of proteinuria.

Albumunuria is a symptom of early diabetic kidney disease. In routine urine examination will identify albuminuria. However, as there are no symptoms this is not given any clinical importance and often goes unnoticed without medical care. Aggressive treatment should start at this time and the progression of the kidney damage could be delayed or arrested.

Routine exam of urine will detect albumunura. However, there is another sensitive test for detection of micro abluminuria. This test detects minute amounts of albumin leaked into the urine (microabluminuria).

Microabluminuria is a sign of early abnormalities of the blood vessels and a forerunner of atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries). Therefore occurrence of albuminuria is sign to aggressive treatment of cardiovascular risk factors.

Research has shown that sufficient and long-term control of blood sugar, blood pressure and dietary changes can help in preventing kidney disease. However, the efforts should start early in the life of people with dhabetes. New drugs used for treatment of hypertension are called angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitors. These agents were originally invented and used for treatment of hypertension. But they were found to be helpful in preventing kidney disease in persons with diabetes, particularly in patients who have albuminuria.

Other than the specific diabetes kidney disease, people with diabetes are also more prone to urinary tract infections. Chronic recurrent urinary tract infection is more common due to high blood sugar levels. Diabetes can also affect the nerves supplying the urinary bladder and produce abnormal bladder function. This can lead to deficient urinary evacuation and urinary retention. Therefore avoidance of infections also helps in preventing kidney damage in diabetes.

So, remember, if you are a diabetic then have urine test for albumin periodically to detect kidney disease.

Bird Flu Infection

Avian influenza (Bird flu)

Bird flu is an infection caused by bird influenza (flu) virus. It is occur naturally in birds. Wild birds carry the viruses in their intestines, but generally do not get sick from them. However, bird flu is very infectious among birds and can make some domestic birds, including hens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick and kill them.

Humans and Bird flu:

There are several subtypes of type A influenza viruses. These subtypes vary because of certain proteins on the surface of the influenza A virus hemagglutinin(HA) and neuraminidase (NA) proteins. There are 16 different HA subtypes and 9 different NA subtypes of flu A viruses. Various different combinations of HA and NA proteins are possible. Each combination is a different subtype. All known subtypes of flu A viruses could found in birds. When we talk about human flu viruses we are referring to those subtypes that occur widely in humans. There are only three known A subtypes of human flu viruses (H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2); it is likely that some genetic parts of current human influenza A viruses came from birds originally.

Human Symptoms:

Bird flu symptoms in humans have ranged from typical flu-like symptoms (fever, sore throat, cough and muscle aches) to eye infections, severe respiratory diseases (such as acute respiratory distress), pneumonia and other severe and life-threatening complications. The symptoms of bird flu may depend on which virus caused the infection

Spread of Bird Flu:

Infected Birds shed flu virus in their nasal secretions, saliva, feces. Susceptible birds become infected when they contact with contaminated excretions or surfaces that are contaminated with excretions. It is believed that most cases of bird flu infection in humans have resulted from contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces. The spread of avian influenza viruses from one ill person to another has been reported very rarely, and transmission has not been experienced to continue beyond one person.

Deal with Bird flu:

Studies suggest that the prescription medicines approved for human flu viruses should work in preventing bird flu infection in humans.

Flu viruses can become resistant to these drugs, so these medications may not always work. Further studies are needed to prove the effectiveness of these medicines. People should avoid contact with infected birds and should be careful when handle cooking poultry.