Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy can occur during the course of both type1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The characteristic lesions are diffuse or nodular (Kimmelsteil-Wilson) diabetic glomerulosclerosis. The reported cases represent unusual presentations of diabetes mellitus.
Case presentation: We report the case of a 49-year-old man without prior history of diabetes mellitus who presented with rapidly progressive renal failure and whose renal biopsy revealed nodular (Kimmelsteil-Wilson) glomerulosclerosis lesions characteristic of diabetes.
Conclusion: Renal manifestations of diabetes mellitus may antedate other more common presenting symptoms of this disease and we critically review the literature on this subject.