A recent medical study has shown that some drugs used to treat diabetes are able to protect the kidneys from age-related vascular damage.
The study focused on sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor drugs and their effect on organs. To study the effects of these drugs, the African blue killifish was used – a very short-lived vertebrate whose age-related changes in its organs within a few weeks correspond to decades of aging in humans. During the study period, as the fish aged, they developed signs typical of kidney aging: deterioration in filtration, capillary collapse, inflammation, and a decrease in cellular energy metabolism.
When the fish were given Dapagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, scientists observed a marked slowing of the signs of kidney aging. The kidneys retained their network of microvascular blood vessels, protein loss in the urine decreased, and gene activity in kidney cells remained closer to a "youthful" pattern. A particularly pronounced effect was observed in the microvascular blood vessels on which the kidney tissues directly depend for oxygen and nutrient supplies.
According to the researchers, these findings help explain why the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors for kidney and heart health extend beyond simply controlling blood sugar levels. Therefore, these drugs could become an effective tool in the future for combating age-related kidney diseases, hence the need for further studies on the subject.
