‘Shrunken pore syndrome’ flags mortality risk in T2DM: Aussie study

Researchers develop new method for detecting kidney complications earlier.

A low ratio of cystatin C–based eGFR to creatinine-based eGFR in people with type 2 diabetes is linked to mortality regardless of conventional markers of renal disease, researchers say.

The University of WA Medical School study followed recognition of shrunken pore syndrome (SPS), a kidney disorder linked to increased mortality in which the glomeruli pores narrow, making it harder for larger proteins such as cystatin C to be filtered.

Cystatin C is a low molecular weight protein that is filtered in the glomerulus and not reabsorbed. It is increasingly being used to assess eGFR alongside traditional serum creatinine–based eGFR.

The accepted definition of SPS is when cystatin C–based eGFR (eGFRcyst) is under 60% of creatinine-based eGFR (eGFRcreate).