Feature Channels: Kidney Disease

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As Houston area residents fight to survive Hurricane Harvey’s flood waters and wreckage, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) joins efforts by the American Kidney Fund (AKF) and the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) coalition to provide continuity of care for displaced kidney dialysis patients in need of treatment. ASN Supports Hurricane Harvey Kidney Patient Relief Efforts Washington, DC (August 23, 2017)—As Houston area residents fight to survive Hurricane Harvey’s flood waters and wreckage, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) joins efforts by the American Kidney Fund (AKF) and the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) coalition to provide continuity of care for displaced kidney dialysis patients in need of treatment. Today, ASN announces a $10,000 donation to the relief efforts for dialysis patients coordinated by AKF. These funds will help those affected by the catastrophic flooding and damage by helping replace medications, providing transportation t

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A team of researchers at the University of Georgia and Virginia Commonwealth University has developed a computer model to help scientists better understand changes in lung function and respiratory mechanics as people age

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• In a recent study of healthy young adults, marijuana use was not associated with change in kidney function over time or the appearance of albumin in the urine, which is a sign of kidney damage. • Additional studies are needed to assess the effects of marijuana in older adults and patients with kidney disease.

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• A tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of certain cases of chronic myeloid leukemia slowed cyst growth in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

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Biomedical engineering researchers will attack two banes of cardiovascular disease — heart failure after heart attacks and the scourge of resistant high blood pressure — with $4.8 million in National Institutes of Health grants that begin this fall.

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A new Michigan State University study now offers new details showing that a certain protein released from fat in the body can cause a non-cancerous cell to turn into a cancerous one. The federally funded research also found that a lower layer of abdominal fat, when compared to fat just under the skin, is the more likely culprit, releasing even more of this protein and encouraging tumor growth.

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• There are very few high quality studies on strategies to increase living kidney donation. • From the limited data available, educational interventions directed at potential recipients and their social networks are the most promising.

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• In a new study, individuals with poor kidney function had an increased risk of developing community-acquired infections. • The relative proportion of lower respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, and sepsis became increasingly higher as kidney function decreased.

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• Investigators observed a step-wise increase in the risk of atrial fibrillation with decreasing kidney function. Compared with patients without kidney disease, those with severe kidney disease had a two-fold higher risk for developing atrial fibrillation. • This link held even after accounting for a range of possible contributors, including measures of cardiovascular health, and it was consistent across subgroups of participants.

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Millions of people die every year from dehydration as a result of exposure and illness. In humans, even the most minor dehydration can compromise the kidneys causing lifelong, irreparable issues or even death. However, some animals living in desert environments are able to survive both acute and chronic dehydration. While these animals, like cactus mice, have evolved over time to deal with environmental stressors like dehydration, researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found it’s not the physical makeup that is helping them survive, but rather their genetic makeup.

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Given the choice of contrast medium for a computed tomography (CT) scan, most patients wouldn’t know the difference between the two iodine-based options commonly used in cancer cases. But for some patients, particularly in the already fragile and potentially compromised cancer patient, it is important to be aware that iodated contrast media has been linked to kidney impairment and a condition known as Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN).

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• Deficits in the ability to smell are common among individuals with chronic kidney disease, and the severity of these deficits increases with the severity of their disease. • Reductions in several markers of nutrition correlated with patients’ impaired sense of smell. • Treatment with intranasal theophylline, an asthma drug, led to improvements in the ability to smell in 5 of 7 patients with kidney failure.

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An experimental treatment derived from a potentially deadly microorganism may provide lifesaving help for kidney transplant patients, according to an international study led by investigators at Cedars-Sinai. The study found that treating patients with the drug IdeS® before transplantation significantly reduced, and in most cases eliminated, donor-specific antibodies that can cause rejection or failure of the new organ.

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A new study has discovered that two microRNAs could be used to develop the first-ever blood test for kidney cancer as well as novel treatments for this condition. These findings were presented today at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego.

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With granddaughter’s life in peril, Carol Graydon came to UAB to be tested as a living kidney donor — and was a perfect match.

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News release from Ortho Clinical Diagnostics regarding CE Mark clearance for VITROS(r) NephroCheck(r)

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• From 2007-2012, deceased donor kidneys in the United States were offered a median of 7 times before finally being accepted for transplantation. • Such refusals may have contributed to racial and ethnic disparities that exist in access to transplantation in the United States.

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Aggressive combination treatments for high blood pressure that are intended to protect the kidneys may actually be damaging the organs.

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n a new study, patients discharged home from the emergency department with acute kidney injury remained at increased risk of poor 30-day outcomes.

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• A molecular analysis of the mismatch between the tissues of donors and recipients helped predict which recipients required high doses of immune modulating drugs and which needed only low doses.

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• A new test may help to rapidly diagnose preeclampsia in pregnant women. Elevated levels of fetal hemoglobin in the blood may play a role in the development of kidney damage associated with preeclampsia.

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Investigators from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed and tested an innovative, reliable means of analyzing pre-cancerous breast lesions diagnosing certain kidney diseases and using only a conventional light microscope. The technique – dubbed “expansion pathology or ExPath – enhances pathologists’ diagnostic ability and could mean earlier interventions for high-risk patients. The research team describes their joint effort in a paper published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

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• In hemodialysis patients, hypothyroidism was linked with impairments across multiple areas of health-related quality of life, including lower energy and greater fatigue, poorer physical function, and greater pain.

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A new study finds that moderate exercise does not impair kidney function in some people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The study—the first to analyze the effects of exercise on kidney disease that does not require dialysis—is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Renal Physiology.

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• Kidney biopsy results had no impact on the function of kidneys transplanted from living donors. • Outcomes following kidney transplantation using deceased donor kidneys were influenced by biopsy findings; however, even transplantation with kidneys with the worst biopsy findings would result in 5 additional years of life for a patient compared with remaining on dialysis. • Most deceased donor kidneys with suboptimal biopsy results were still functioning 5 years after transplantation.

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The ASN Foundation for Kidney Research announced the names of its 2017 research grant recipients who are working to improve our understanding of kidney diseases and to develop new and advanced treatment options.

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Combination therapy with two immunotherapy drugs produces an unprecedented doubling of response rates from 20 percent to 40 percent, a new study shows.

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• Most bloodstream infections in dialysis patients continue to occur in those with central venous catheters used to access their blood. The findings come from 2014 data from US dialysis facilities. • Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly isolated pathogen that caused bloodstream infections, and in many cases they were antibiotic-resistant.

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A University of Delaware research team is combating chronic kidney disease (CKD) with exercise. The team had patients engage in a specially designed exercise program and found that it improved their blood vessel health and exercise capacity.

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The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) believes the Better Care Reconciliation Act’s passage would negatively impact millions of patients. ASN has written to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer to express its concerns.

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Between 15 and 20 percent of black people carry a genetic mutation that puts them at risk for certain chronic kidney disease, but only about half of them develop the illness – a variance that long has puzzled researchers. Now a study has found that the gene mutation’s toxic effects require higher than normal levels of a protein called suPAR to trigger the onset and progression of the disease.

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• In individuals with chronic kidney disease, targeting a systolic blood pressure to <120 mm Hg resulted in lower risks of cardiovascular events and premature death, compared with standard targeting to <140 mm Hg. • There was a slightly faster decline in kidney function in the intensive group, but no increase in rates of kidney failure or serious adverse events.

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Josephine P. Briggs, MD, begins her term on January 1, 2018 as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of American Society of Nephrology (JASN), considered the leading specialty journal in nephrology.

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University of California San Diego School of Medicine has entered a five-year strategic partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to discover meaningful treatments for metabolic diseases.

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A new, minimally invasive system which uses radiofrequency energy instead of open surgery to create access for patients needing hemodialysis, is reliable, with minimal complications, according to data published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

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UNC School of Medicine researchers have cracked a long-standing mystery about an important enzyme called Set2 found in virtually all organisms other than bacteria. The basic science finding may have implications for understanding cancer development and how to halt it.

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• A new calculator estimates the likelihood that a given patient who receives a kidney transplant from a particular living donor will maintain a functioning kidney. • The calculator may be especially useful for kidney paired donation.

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The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) applauds the Trump Administration’s decision to extend Francis S. Collins’, MD, Ph.D, tenure as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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Almost 1 in 6 of the millions of Americans on the new blood-thinning medications for atrial fibrillation, a common heart condition characterized by an irregular and often rapid heart rate, may not be receiving the recommended dose, new Mayo Clinic research finds.

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Physicians at UAB share tips on men’s health and how it affects heart health, sexual function and memory and decreases cancer risk.

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Stanley C. Jordan, MD, a pioneering kidney transplant researcher, has received the International Society of Nephrology’s highest honor for groundbreaking work that improves the lives of kidney transplant patients while preserving the precious resource of donated organs.

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• Patients who received kidney transplants from donors with diabetes had better survival compared with those who remained on the waitlist. • Patients at high risk of dying while on the waitlist and those at centers with long wait times may benefit the most from transplantation with kidneys from diabetic donors.

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In a study published today in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have found that the best chance of survival, for older patients, those who live in areas with long waits for transplantation, or those who already have diabetes, may come from accepting a kidney from a deceased donor who had diabetes.

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Calvin Kennedy, a nurse at UAB Hospital, is a two-time kidney transplant recipient who has no plans to live an ordinary life.

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A new study led by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute establishes a connection between a sedentary lifestyle and risk of developing kidney or bladder cancer.

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Incidental discovery of a kidney tumor in a chest scan leads to robotic surgery for kidney cancer.

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A new clinical trial provides a new option for kidney cancer patients and adds to Rush’s wider research efforts towards identifying immune system biomarkers to better predict which immunotherapy will work best for individuals no matter which cancer they’re fighting.

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• In a new study, a higher amount of body fat was linked with an increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease. • Simple ways of measuring body size—such as waist circumference or body mass index—provided similar information on risk as more sophisticated methods, such as imaging scans, to measure different types of body fat.

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• Patients who were admitted to the hospital with sepsis, heart diseases, polytrauma, liver disease, and cardiovascular surgery were at elevated risk for developing acute kidney injury (AKI). • The medical records of most patients who developed hospital-acquired AKI did not include the diagnosis code for AKI.

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• Chronic fluid overload was linked with an increased risk of early death in patients undergoing hemodialysis. • The magnitude of this risk was comparable to that of coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure.