Diabetes, deafness and renal disease

Deafness, kidney disease and diabetes are not a usual association, neither is a family history of these diseases. We present the case of a 47-year-old woman with non-nephrotic proteinuria, no haematuria, normal renal function, sensorineural hearing loss, recently diagnosed diabetes and maculopathy. There was a maternal family history of deafness, diabetes and renal disease. Renal biopsy revealed focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), leading to the pursuit of an m.3243A > G mitochondrial mutation and diagnosis of maternally inherited diabetes and deafness. The association of FSGS with mitochondrial diseases is not well known among nephrologists. Its timely diagnosis is important to avoid exposure to ineffective and unnecessary immunosuppression.