In a 2003 study of 386 patients with type I diabetes, individuals with albuminuria who obtained early diagnosis through frequent screening and maintained very good levels of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol actually promoted the healing process and, in some cases, reversed kidney complications.

Newer findings suggest that albuminuria is a risk factor for kidney and cardiovascular disease in the general population as well, according to data presented at the International Symposium on Albuminuria in New York last year.

"Future trials may indicate that everyone--not just those at risk--should be tested for albuminuria regularly," said symposium chair Dr. Dick de Zeeuw, professor and head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands. "The most significant remaining question is, does a reduction in albumin levels result in protection against disease? Initial data are indicating this is the case, but more research needs to be done."

A urine test called Accumin (formerly Microalbumin Plus) recently received expanded labeling for diagnostic use in urine from patients with cardiovascular disease. The assay was approved for the early detection of albumin as an indicator of potential kidney disease in August 2003.

Experts say that commonly available drugs such as ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) may lower albumin levels by as much as 40 percent. For more on the role of albuminuria in reversing kidney disease in diabetes, see the November 2003 issue (Vol. 29 Number 5) of Medical Update.