(01-05-11) Diet 'can reverse kidney failure' in mice with diabetes

A controlled diet high in fat and low in carbohydrate can repair kidney damage
in diabetic mice, according to US scientists.
The study, published in journal PLoS ONE, showed a "ketogenic diet" could
reverse damage caused to tubes in the kidneys by too much sugar in the blood.
In the UK around a third of the 2.8m people with either type 1 or 2 diabetes
go on to develop kidney damage.
Diabetes UK said it was "questionable" whether humans could sustain the diet.
Damage reversed
The researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York used mice
with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Once kidney damage had developed, half the mice were put onto the ketogenic
diet for eight weeks.
The highly controlled diet, which is 87% fat, mimics the effect of starvation
and should not be used without medical advice.
After eight weeks the researchers noted that kidney damage was reversed.
Professor Charles Mobbs, who led the research at Mount Sinai School of
Medicine, said: "Our study is the first to show that a dietary intervention
alone is enough to reverse this serious complication of diabetes.
"I certainly think it has promise, but I can't recommend it until we have done
clinical trials."
The researchers also need to figure out the exact process that leads to
repair.
Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: "This research was
carried out in mice so it is difficult to see how these results would translate
into any real benefits for people with diabetes at this stage.
"It is too simple to say that kidney failure could be prevented by diet alone
and it is also questionable whether the diet used in this model would be
sustainable for humans, even in the short term."
Helen Nickerson, from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which part
funded the research, said: "Dr Mobbs' novel observation could lead to new
molecular insights in diabetic kidney disease."

Source: BBC NEWS

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In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.