UT Health San Antonio discovers molecule predicting kidney failure in diabetics

SAN ANTONIO - Diabetes patients listen up! There is a new way to detect if you are going into kidney failure.

A researcher at UT Health San Antonio made the medical breakthrough by studying a specific molecule found in a patient’s urine. The discovery can now change the way diabetes patients are cared for in the future. The molecule is called adenine and if it’s found to be elevated in urine, it can be determined if patients with diabetes will go into kidney failure five to ten years before it happens.

The research is being done here at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The research took four to five years to complete, but Dr. Kumar Sharma who is the Chief of nephrology discovered the molecule was damaging kidney tissue. The Vice Chair of Research says now that they have found where kidney damage starts, there is a way to treat it before renal failure happens to a patient. It can detect this as early as five to ten years in advance.

Dr. Kumar Sharma says, “If they are at high risk of kidney failure even if they don’t have protein in their urine and those patients could be treated either with more intensive dietary modifications, or a new medication that will control their diabetes and specifically lower adenine in the urine and in the kidney and protect their kidneys in the long run. He adds, “We are starting this test to be available for patients to be able to get it tested and if the doctor wants to order the test, they can have it done at UT Health San Antonio and we give the report back to the doctor. The test is being approved for clinical use and right now it is an experimental test, but we expect it to be available for all patients in the near future.”

With those results, a patient can work with their doctor on what they can do to prevent kidney failure or protect their kidneys for as long as possible.