Aim. To determine the urinary nephrin excretion levels and clarify its significance as an early marker of kidney damage in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2).

Materials and Methods. 97 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were examined. The mean age of the patients was 56 [51,7, 64] years; according to the medical history, the average duration of DM2 was 7.6 [1.5, 8.9] years. All patients underwent determination of with nephrin, microalbumin, creatinine levels, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated by formulas.

Results. According to the results of study, an increase in the urine nephrin levels was detected in all the examined DM2 patients. Nephrinuria in diabetic nephropathy correlates with albuminuria, creatinine and glycosylated hemoglobin levels, blood pressure, and GFR.

Conclusion. Structural and functional disorders of podocytes associated with metabolic, endocrine and hemodynamic disorders in type 2 diabetes mellitus are already observed at the early stages of the formation of diabetic nephropathy (DN), preceding the development of clinically significant albuminuria.