Diabetic nephropathy, a common complication of the prevalent disease diabetes, arises when untreated or inadequately controlled diabetes damages the clusters of blood vessels in the kidneys that filter blood waste. This leads to kidney damage and can also cause high blood pressure. The resulting hypertension further increases pressure on the kidney's filtering system, causing more kidney damage. Hypertension is thought to be both a cause and a consequence of the damage caused by diabetic nephropathy. Uncontrolled hypertension can accelerate the progression of diabetic nephropathy.