DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY IN JAPAN

According to a nation-wide survey of dialysis patients in Japan the nu mber of diabetic patients with end-stage renal failure introduced to d ialysis therapy has been increasing year by year, exceeding 6000 cases (28% of total cases) in 1991. A six-fold increase in numbers and a th ree-fold increase in percentages (DM/total) were observed in the past ten years. Although the medical technology and regimen in dialysis the rapy have been greatly improved, the prognosis of those diabetic patie nts on maintenance dialysis has remained unsatisfactory. Their quality of life has been severely damaged mostly because of the impairment of visual acuity. The early detection and early introduction of effectiv e therapy for diabetic nephropathy, therefore, may be the most imminen t tasks necessary to prevent the various problems afflicting diabetic patients on end-stage renal failure.