Symptoms of diabetic nephropathy in the elderly

When I first joined the company, I thought the company's president was our current President Wang. In fact, that was not the case. It was not until later that I found out that there was more than one president. There was also his brother. However, because his brother had diabetic nephropathy, he had been receiving treatment outside and was not in the company. So what are the symptoms of diabetic nephropathy in the elderly? Let us learn about it together!

For rich people like our company's boss, they can spend a lot of money on treatment for this disease, but for ordinary families, they are unable to afford the expensive medical expenses. So in daily life, I hope people can understand the symptoms of diabetic nephropathy in the elderly so that they can better protect our health and improve our health.

Clinical manifestations

The clinical manifestations of DN vary greatly. In the early stage, there may be no clinical symptoms. In the late stage, severe metabolic disorders and multi-system involvement of end-stage renal disease may occur. Its clinical manifestations mainly depend on the patient's DN stage and the degree of renal function impairment. DN is currently divided into 5 stages, which often cause a series of metabolic dysfunctions:

1. Water metabolism disorder

The patient's ability to regulate water has been significantly reduced. If the appetite is poor and the water intake is reduced, acidosis will increase the respiratory amplitude and increase the water loss in the respiratory tract. If accompanied by diarrhea, vomiting, etc., water depletion will easily occur, the glomerular filtration rate will drop extremely, the urine volume will decrease day by day, and the blood urea nitrogen and creatinine will rise rapidly.

2. Electrolyte metabolism disorder

Electrolyte disorders are very common in uremia caused by DN and may occur together with dehydration and edema. A single or several electrolyte metabolism disorders may occur simultaneously.

3. Acidosis

Acidosis can clinically manifest as deeper breathing, decreased appetite, fatigue, weak myocardial contraction and decreased blood pressure, etc., severe uncontrolled sugar metabolism, fat metabolism disorders, increased blood ketone body levels. Acidosis caused by diabetic nephropathy is more severe and more complicated than uremic acidosis caused by other reasons.

4. Protein, sugar, and fat metabolism disorders

In DN uremia, the total plasma protein value is often lower than normal. Chronic malnutrition, bleeding, protein leakage in urine and metabolic disorders in the human body lead to functional disorders such as protein synthesis and conversion.

5. Endocrine dysfunction

Various endocrine hormone metabolic abnormalities may occur in DN with chronic renal failure. These disorders can be summarized as: ① disorders in synthesis or secretion; ② disorders in the biological action of hormones; ③ abnormal plasma protein binding; ④ metabolic disorders.

6. Manifestations of system failures

① Digestive system; ② Neuropsychiatric system; ③ Hematopoietic system; ④ Cardiovascular system; ⑤ Respiratory system; ⑥ Skin and mucous membrane manifestations; ⑦ Immune system. All of the above systems are affected and have varying degrees of disorders.

Through the above, we know what the symptoms of diabetic nephropathy in the elderly are. We hope that people can correctly understand the symptoms of diabetic nephropathy in the elderly, so as to play a certain role in improving our health. We should also pay attention and be cautious in all aspects. Let us take action for our health!