Newswise — San Diego, CA (Nov 1, 2012) — Ronald J. Falk, MD, FASN, president of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the world’s largest professional society devoted to the study of kidney disease, urges his colleagues to envision a cure for kidney disease.
Noting the many negative terms used in kidney medicine such as “end-stage,” “chronic,” and “progressive,” Dr. Falk asks his peers if it is possible “that we no longer imagine a time when we can prevent or cure kidney disease?” In his opening address Dr. Falk challenges more than 13,000 meeting participants to use the following approaches to envision cures as achievable:
• Maintain and amplify scientific discovery and real breakthroughs;• Interact with industry innovators;• Prevent kidney disease;• Educate the next generation; and• Embrace team-based practice patterns.
Dr. Falk highlights several initiatives ASN is taking to help researchers and clinicians make curing kidney disease a reality, including:
• The new ASN Foundation for Kidney Research will fund and nurture young kidney scientists as they seek to prevent and cure kidney disease through research and innovation. • ASN’s partnership with the US Food and Drug Administration to create the Kidney Health Initiative will advance understanding of new and existing medical products and address a wide range of challenges in treatment of patients with kidney disease.• ASN’s expanding professional education opportunities for nurses and pharmacists will encourage the essential contributions of all members of the medical team to restoring the health of patients with kidney disease.
“I fully appreciate the broad and challenging ocean of real and perceived threats to our progress,” said Dr. Falk. “Yet for us to cure kidney disease, we must first imagine and then embrace the notion that we can cure kidney disease even though we do not know how to do so at present.”
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