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Novel biomarker for diagnosis of diabetic renal damage

Researchers of Jagiellonian University have developed a method that will help in earlier diagnosing of renal damage caused by diabetes. The method allows estimating the risk of renal failure. Researchers discovered that microvesicles present in urine may serve as biomarkers of diabetic kidney disease.

Many patients have been waiting for that news. In Poland over 2 millions of people suffer from diabetes mellitus. More than 10% develop complications therefore the need of detecting of such disease is huge.

A group at Jagiellonian University: dr hab. Ewa Stępień and Agnieszka Kamińska, in cooperation with researchers from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of Polish Academy of Science: dr Maciej Roman and dr hab. Czesława Paluszkiewicz have been working on the solution since 2014. The invention, already reported to the Patent Office, is called the development of novel renal damage biomarker in patients who suffer from diabetic kidney disease.
 
The definition of biomarker in medicine is broad. It can be either a molecule or substance, as well as the physical index, e.g. blood pressure serves as a biomarker for hypertension, and following this path – the level of sugar is a biomarker for diabetes.
 
- We have found the biomarkers in urine, which have never been used before in diagnostics. Dr hab. Ewa Stępień, head of the Department of Medical Physics of the JU explains - it has been long suspected that such biomarkers exist, they were even described, but their incidence has never been correlated with the degree of kidney failure nor with the stage of diabetes. She adds that the urine contains microvesicles of cellular origin. After observation scientist decided, that they are representative of the cells from which they originate.
 
- Spectrum research within Raman spectroscopy, i.e. spectroscopy of molecular vibrational states allows characterization of molecular content at the level of protein molecules, nucleic acids, lipids, fat in the cell and other biological objects, in our case in the the microvesicles – explains dr hab. Ewa Stępień.

The next step is clinical trials and prototype test designing. When asked about applications of the new biomarker researcher from JU replies that above all it can be used in diagnostics e.g. in point-of-care testing or in large laboratories. It is worth emphasizing that the test will be non-invasive (urine sample) and will not burden the patient. It will be possible to use it at the early stage of the disease. Another great advantage of this method is its high sensitivity.