Affiliations: [a] Diabetes and Endocrinology Unit, ASL RMH, Rome, Italy. e-mail: tatti0@tin.it
| [b] Diabetes and Dietology Unit ASP of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy | [c] University of Nevada School of Medicine, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Abstract: We evaluated if a nutritional supplement containing arginine, glutamine, β-hydroxy-β-methyl butyrate commonly used to improve the healing of diabetic foot ulcers had any effect on the kidney function in the diabetic patients. We hypothesized that the action on the skin may be non-specific and that the supplement might also act on other structural elements of the kidney. We compared the evolution of the blood creatinine and of the overnight albumin excretion in 16 diabetic subjects with mild to moderate nephropathy 6 months prior to and during the 6 months of treatment. The creatinine level remained stable during the treatment, while microalbuminuria decreased to nearly 50% of the initial value (p < 0.000).
