• Red meat intake was strongly associated with an increased risk of kidney failure among Chinese adults in Singapore who were followed for an average of 15.5 years. • No association was found with intakes of poultry, fish, eggs, or dairy products, while soy and legumes appeared to be slightly protective.
• The likelihood of developing membranous nephropathy, an immune disorder of the kidneys that can lead to kidney failure, increased 13% annually over 11 years in China. • Regions with high levels of fine particulate air pollution had the highest rates of membranous nephropathy.
The ASN Foundation for Kidney Research announced the 2016 recipients of research grants to advance new understandings of—and treatments for—kidney diseases. The Foundation will fund 36 leading researchers working to cure kidney diseases. These include new projects and others continuing from 2015. Established in 2012 by the American Society of Nephrology, the Foundation funds research that will help improve the health of the more than 20 million Americans burdened by kidney diseases, the 9th leading cause of death in the United States.
Highlight • Diabetes and kidney disease, separately and together, were linked with increased risks of stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular mortality in African Americans living in Mississippi.
• Two-thirds of the children with kidney disease were classified as vitamin D deficient. • Children with kidney disease who took vitamin D supplements had vitamin D levels that were 2 times higher than those who did not take supplements. • Certain genetic variants were also associated with vitamin D levels.
Washington, DC (June 16, 2016)—The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) retains a very prominent position in the field of nephrology in Impact Factor for 2015, with a score of 8.5 according to Journal Citation Reports® (JCR). This Impact Factors reflects the average annual number of citations in 2015 to articles published in a journal during 2013 and 2014.
Washington, DC (June 13, 2016) — The Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) is pleased to support President Barack Obama’s call to action through its attendance at the White House Organ Summit on Monday, June 13. This Summit will examine ways to improve the outcomes for individuals waiting for organ transplants and support living donors in addition to improving kidney patient care options and access to transplantation.
Washington, DC (June 13, 2016) —More than 20 million Americans live with kidney diseases. About 650,000 have end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and need dialysis or a transplant to live. Kidney diseases disproportionately affects minority populations; African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are four times more likely to develop kidney failure, and African Americans in low income neighborhoods are 57 percent less likely to make the transplant list.
Absorption and excretion of calcium were faster in certain patients with a history of kidney stones.
• A common genetic variant that is present in approximately 40% of Caucasian individuals was linked with an increased risk of kidney damage after heart surgery. • The variant results in decreased expression of a gene involved in maintaining iron balance in the body.
Today three major nephrology societies — the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA), and the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) ― signed a declaration of collaboration. The organizations agreed that kidney disease is a global challenge that respects no boundaries or borders. Therefore, all available synergies should be used to fight kidney disease and improve the standard of care for kidney patients worldwide.
• In patients with chronic kidney disease, those with more advanced disease had higher blood levels of the bacterial metabolite phenylacetylglutamine. • Patients with high phenylacetylglutamine had an elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease as well as a heightened risk of dying prematurely.
• In the See Kidney Disease (SeeKD) Targeted Screening program undertaken by the Kidney Foundation of Canada, 89% of patients who were screened reported at least 1 risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), and of those, 19% had unrecognized CKD.
• Kidney function remained unchanged among hypertensive adults in communities assigned to a public health intervention for general practitioners and community health workers, whereas kidney function significantly declined among those who received usual care. • Individuals in the communities with the intervention were half as likely as other individuals to experience a >20% decline in kidney function within 5 years after the intervention was stopped.
• In a study of hospitalized patients, those with chronic kidney disease were 19% more likely to experience hospital acquired complications than patients with normal kidney function. • There was a graded relation between the risk of complications and kidney disease severity.
• A smartphone-based system helped patients with chronic kidney disease monitor their blood pressure, symptoms, and medications. • The system also alerted patients’ physicians about medication errors and other potential harms.
• Chronic kidney disease that is not associated with traditional risk factors appears to be increasing in rural hot communities as worldwide temperature progressively rises. • The condition has likely increased due to global warming and an increase in extreme heat waves, and it is having a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations.
• Researchers detected transient increases in enzymes indicative of kidney health that correlated with specific phases of the female reproductive hormone cycle. • The findings indicate that nonreproductive organs may undergo periodical adaptations phased by menstrual cycle–driven hormone changes.
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) has named Rajnish Mehrotra, MD, FASN, as Editor-in-Chief of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), effective January 1, 2017. He will serve a six-year term.
• Systolic blood pressure levels above 140 mmHg were linked with higher risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and death in patients with chronic kidney disease of all ages, but the magnitude of these associations diminished with more advanced age. • Diastolic blood pressure levels below 70 mmHg were associated with a higher risk of death, but otherwise they showed no association with cardiovascular outcomes
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is one of two leading kidney health organizations participating in Kidney Health Advocacy Day 2016 in Washington, DC. Advocates from ASN and the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) will meet with Congressional offices to call for lawmakers’ support of the Living Donor Protection Act of 2016. Kidney health providers and patients will urge passage of the legislation that would eliminate barriers to living donation and help increase access to lifesaving transplants.
• Patients who took proton pump inhibitors for heartburn, acid reflux, or ulcers had an increased risk of kidney function decline, chronic kidney disease, and kidney failure. • The longer patients took the drugs, the greater their risk.
• Following vaccination against human papillomavirus, girls and young women with chronic kidney disease and those on dialysis had antibody levels above the threshold that indicates protection from infection. • A significant proportion of patients with kidney transplants showed evidence of an inadequate antibody response to the vaccine.
• Daily fluctuations caused by the kidney’s circadian clock have an important effect on the levels of various amino acids, lipids, and other components of blood in the body. • In individuals who take medications, the kidney’s circadian clock controls drug elimination from the body and therefore can influence the duration of a drug’s action and the effectiveness of the therapy.
• Among 10,533 kidney transplant recipients, 57% visited an emergency department within 2 years after transplantation. • Risk factors for emergency department visits included younger age, females, black and Hispanic race/ethnicity, public insurance, depression, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and use of emergency departments prior to transplantation.
• Among kidney failure patients aged ≥80 years, there was no statistically significant survival advantage for those who chose dialysis over conservative management.
• Over nearly 25 years of follow-up, blacks had a higher risk of hypertension, diabetes, and kidney failure than whites, after adjustments. • Most blacks with gene variants that have been linked to kidney disease experienced kidney function decline similar to blacks without the variants.
• Urine collected from preterm infants one day after birth often contains progenitor cells that can develop into mature kidney cells. • The cells also have natural defenses that protect against cell death.
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is one of 16 kidney health organizations uniting to advance new bipartisan legislation that would eliminate barriers to living donation and help increase access to lifesaving transplants. Kidney health providers and patients commend Congress for today’s introduction of the Living Donor Protection Act of 2016 and urge its swift passage to help the more than 100,000 Americans currently waiting for a kidney transplant. The new legislation could potentially save Medicare between $565 million and $1.2 billion over 10 years.
A new study examines whether recent changes in the use of anemia drugs for patients on dialysis have contributed to changes in rates of death or cardiovascular events. The findings indicate that these risks appear to be decreasing for patients on dialysis as well as for older adults not on dialysis. These results suggest that recent trends in the use of anemia drugs in response to US Food and Drug Administration labeling changes and prospective payment for dialysis services have been either neutral or possibly beneficial for patients on dialysis.
• More than one-quarter of patients with chronic kidney disease may have masked hypertension, meaning that their blood pressure is normal in the clinic but elevated outside the clinic. • Masked hypertension in patients with chronic kidney disease is linked with an increased risk of kidney, heart, and vascular damage.
As medical research continues to generate new technologies and drugs for a wide variety of uses, questions arise regarding how such resources should be used and who should have access to them. A new article addresses these questions, using the history of hemodialysis as a guide.
• From 1990 to 2012, disparities in health outcomes lessened between black and white kidney transplant recipients, including those who received live donor kidney transplants and those who received deceased donor kidney transplants.
• Five patients with severely reduced kidney function would need to adhere to a ketoanalogue-supplemented very low–protein diet to avoid a >50% reduction in kidney function or the need for dialysis in 1 patient
High levels of mitochondrial DNA in the blood was linked with a 25% reduced risk of developing chronic kidney disease compared with low levels.
• Generally healthy older individuals with normal or high bicarbonate levels in the blood had a similar risk of dying during follow-up, but patients with low bicarbonate had a 24% increased risk compared with these groups.
• Among male kidney transplant candidates, prostate cancer screening was not associated with improved patient survival after transplantation. • Screening increased the time to listing and transplantation for candidates under 70 years old with elevated prostate specific antigen levels. • Compared with candidates who were not screened, screened candidates had a reduced likelihood of receiving a transplant regardless of their screening results.
• The prevalence of chronic kidney disease varies across European countries, ranging from 3% to 17% • Differences in rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity—which are risk factors for chronic kidney disease—do not account for this variation.
Ingesting a drink rich in cocoa flavanols improved blood vessel function and reduced diastolic blood pressure in patients with kidney failure.
Vitamin D2 supplements taken for 6 months did not reduce dialysis patients’ need for anemia drugs that stimulate red blood cell production.
• Among US patients initiating dialysis between 2007 and 2011, every racial/ethnic minority group was less likely to be treated with home dialysis compared with whites. • Racial disparities also existed in patients’ risk of dying prematurely and their access to kidney transplantation.
Native Americans have decreased access to kidney transplants and are more likely to die while waiting for a kidney than whites according to new research. Long-term survival outcomes in Native Americans who did receive a kidney transplant were worse than whites, according to a study presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 in San Diego, CA.
• After researchers transplanted kidney tissue generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells into a mouse kidney, the animal’s blood vessels readily connected to the human tissue.
• After 6 months of treatment with hydroxyurea, sickle cell disease patients’ kidney function, as measured by the urinary albumin/creatine ratio, improved significantly.
An increase in serum phosphorus levels in African Americans with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with faster progression to kidney failure, known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The study confirmed in African Americans what previous studies in Caucasians demonstrated, that an increase in the biomarker predicted ESRD risk. The research, from the Indiana University School of Medicine, was presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 November 3–8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.
• Higher levels of urinary potassium excretion, which closely correlate with intake amounts, were linked with a slower decline of kidney function and a lower incidence of cardiovascular complications among patients with type 2 diabetes and normal kidney function.
• Risk of kidney and thyroid cancers was especially high when kidney failure patients were on dialysis. • Conversely, risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, melanoma, lung cancer, and certain skin cancers was highest following kidney transplantation, likely due to immunosuppressant medications.
New advances in nanopore technology could lead to the development of a surgically implantable, artificial kidney. The research, a collaboration between UCSF and Vanderbilt University, was presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 November 3–8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) announced the winners of the ASN Innovations in Kidney Education Contest, a competition to develop novel methods of teaching the kidney’s vital role in maintaining overall health. Winners will present their innovative tools during a plenary session at the society’s annual meeting, ASN Kidney Week 2015, the largest gathering of kidney disease specialists in the world.
Kidneys that would normally be made available for transplantation were less likely to be procured from donors over the weekend, and organs procured during the weekend were more likely to be discarded than kidneys procured on other days. The findings, which should influence future policy aimed at improving kidney transplantation rates, will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 November 3–8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right