Glycemic control, the tight control of blood sugar, has shown great promise for people with IDDM, especially for those in early stages of nephropathy.
Glycemic control is a treatment regimen that aims to keep blood glucose levels close to normal.
The regimen includes testing blood sugar several times a day, administering insulin on a sliding scale, following a diet and exercise plan, and frequently consulting a health care team. A number of studies have examined the beneficial effects of glycemic control. In the Minnesota Medical School trial, researchers examined kidney tissues of long-term diabetics who received healthy kidney transplants. After 5 years, patients who followed an intensive regimen developed significantly fewer lesions in their glomeruli than did patients not following an intensive regimen. This result, along with findings of the DCCT and studies performed in Scandinavia, suggests than any program resulting in sustained lowering of blood glucose levels will be beneficial to patients in the early stages of diabetic nephropathy.