Increase in Glomerular Filtration Rate in Patients with Insulin-Dependent Diabetes and Elevated Erythrocyte Sodium–Lithium Countertransport

Abstract

Increased sodium–lithium countertransport in erythrocytes is found in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and nephropathy. To determine whether such an increase precedes the onset of nephropathy and, if so, whether it is associated with changes in renal function, we measured erythrocyte sodium–lithium countertransport in 52 patients with IDDM but not nephropathy or hypertension and in 32 control subjects.