{"id":5721,"date":"2022-06-19T23:32:13","date_gmt":"2022-06-19T23:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drmirkin.com\/?p=5721"},"modified":"2022-06-20T22:00:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T22:00:55","slug":"mark-shields-and-kidney-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/drmirkin.com\/?p=5721","title":{"rendered":"Mark Shields and Kidney Failure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Shields was a political columnist, a television commentator, and an election campaign advisor to numerous democratic candidates. He was a regular commentator and analysist on the PBS NewsHour<\/em> for 32 years from 1988-2020. He was one of CNN’s Capital Gang<\/em> for 17 years from 1988-2005, and was a regular on Inside Washington<\/em> on PBS and ABC until the show ended in 2013.<\/p>\n

Shields died from kidney failure at age 85, on June 18, 2022. No further details were given to the press, and I have never seen his medical records, but the most common cause of kidney failure is diabetes, Several photos of Shields show that he had a large, protruding abdomen which is associated with a significantly increased risk for diabetes. People with this “apple” shape also often have small buttocks, and having both a large belly and small buttocks puts a person at extremely high risk for diabetes.<\/p>\n

How Diabetes Often Leads to Kidney Failure<\/strong>
\nOne in three diabetics develop severe kidney damage caused by:
\n\u2022 A high rise in blood sugar causes sugar to stick to and damage the outer membranes of cells. When sugar binds to protein or fat it is termed an Advanced Glycation End product (AGE).
\n\u2022 AGEs can form in blood vessels by binding to collagen which decreases vessel wall elasticity. Inelastic blood vessels result in high blood pressure that can damage kidneys directly.
\n\u2022 The AGE cell damage turns on a person\u2019s immune system to cause inflammation<\/a> that produces cells and chemicals that specifically damage the kidneys<\/p>\n

The Diabetes-Big Belly Connection<\/strong>
\nMore than seventy percent of North American adults will become type II diabetic or prediabetic; diseases that are curable with lifestyle changes but not curable with drugs. Insulin insensitivity (failure to respond to insulin) causes the majority of all cases of type II diabetes and prediabetes, and insulin insensitivity is usually caused by excess fat in the liver (J Clin Invest<\/em>, May 19, 2020; Endocrine Reviews<\/em>, Dec 1, 2008;29(7):939\u2013960).
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