Empagliflozin and Progression of Kidney Disease in Type 2 Diabetes

Among patients with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk, the rates of progression of kidney disease and clinically relevant renal events were lower among patients receiving empagliflozin, a sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, than among those receiving placebo. Type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor for macrovascular and microvascular disease. 1 Kidney disease develops in approximately 35% of patients with type 2 diabetes 2 and is associated with increased mortality. 3 Intensive glucose-lowering strategies have been shown to reduce surrogate markers of renal complications in patients with type 2 diabetes; however, evidence for improvement in advanced renal complications is limited. 4 – 8 Thus, despite optimized glucose control and the use of single-agent blockade of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS), patients with type 2 diabetes remain at increased risk for death and complications from cardiorenal causes. 9 , 10 Empagliflozin, a selective sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 . . .