Table 1.

Pathophysiological stages of diabetic nephropathy.

Stage 1: Glomerular basement membrane thickening, normal GFR *, no urinary albumin; high blood pressure is often observed

Stage 2: Mild to severe mesangial expansion, increased mesangial matrix, normal GFR

Stage 3: Damaged glomerular and increased albuminuria can be observed. This stage is also known as nodular sclerosis

Stage 4: Advanced stage of glomerulosclerosis

Stage 5: Complete kidney failure, GFR is well below 15 mL/min/1.73 m2

* GFR: glomerular flow rate. This table is adapted from Agarwal R. [50] and Natesan V. et al. [11].