Novel therapies of diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy is currently the most common cause of end stage renal disease not only in the western hemisphere but also in the developing nations. While the available therapeutic options remain not very effective, there is a strong ongoing effort to understand the pathogenesis better and develop more useful biomarkers. As the pathogenic mediators and signaling pathways get better defined, the scope of novel pharmaceutical agents to address such mediating factors as therapeutic targets is advancing. This review provides, in addition to a brief synopsis of currently used strategies, a comprehensive review of potential therapies that are evolving in the past decade with a specific focus on the promising agents.