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.
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.
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.
• 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
• 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.
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).
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.
Physicians at UAB share tips on men’s health and how it affects heart health, sexual function and memory and decreases cancer risk.
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.
• 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.
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.
Calvin Kennedy, a nurse at UAB Hospital, is a two-time kidney transplant recipient who has no plans to live an ordinary life.
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.
Incidental discovery of a kidney tumor in a chest scan leads to robotic surgery for kidney cancer.
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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
The 5-year grant from the NHLBI to the labs of Jennifer and David Pollock also includes a third project at the University of Utah, bringing together 3 highly successful research entities
A novel treatment offers kidney failure and kidney transplant patients with a rare disorder new hope. The treatment allows targeted elimination of plasma cell clones producing abnormal proteins that deposits in the kidneys and leads to kidney failure, according to new research.
Kidney cancer patients may soon have more treatment choices that provide a higher quality of life, thanks to research completed by physician scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
April 2017 Headline
• Potentially preventable hospital acquired complications were associated with increased risks of dying while hospitalized or within 90 days of discharge, as well as with a greater likelihood of staying longer in the hospital and needing to be readmitted. • The magnitude of these associations was larger in patients with chronic kidney disease than in those with normal kidney function.
• Researchers have developed a risk calculator that estimates the risk of kidney failure after donation. • Overall risk was quite low, but black race and male sex were associated with increased risks of developing kidney failure in living kidney donors. • Older age was associated with greater kidney failure risk in nonblack donors, but not in in black donors. • Higher body mass index and a close biological relationship to the transplant recipient were also associated with increased risks of kidney failure.
Celeste Lee, cherished wife, sister, daughter, mother, faithful friend, and passionate patient advocate, died at age 51 from the autoimmune disease vasculitis, surrounded by family and friends, both near and far. Celeste was a longtime member of the Vasculitis Foundation and a founding member of the North Carolina VF Support Group.
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that surgery could more than double life expectancy for many patients with late-stage kidney cancer, giving them anywhere from two to almost 10 years more than they’d have without the surgery. A paper, published recently in The Journal of Urology, found a “clinically meaningful difference in survival” between renal cell carcinoma patients who had surgery to completely remove secondary tumor growths, called metastases, compared to those who didn’t.
• Most nephrology fellows rated overall quality of teaching in fellowships as either “good” or “excellent,” and over half of second-year fellows felt “fully prepared” for independent practice. • Fellows indicated a desire for more education in several core nephrology topics, including peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis, ultrasound, and kidney pathology.
The latest in a series of studies led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that addition of a widely available, noninvasive imaging test called 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT/CT to CT or MRI increases the accuracy of kidney tumor classification. The research team reports that the potential improvement in diagnostic accuracy will spare thousands of patients each year in the United States alone from having to undergo unnecessary surgery.
Doctors rely mostly on two biomarkers -- urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate -- to identify those at higher risk of kidney failure. But researchers say those criteria miss a large proportion of patients who are at high risk of the disease and fail to predict accurately time of onset of ESRD. Researchers from Joslin Diabetes Center have developed a prognostic tool that accurately predicts the risk of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Physicians Perform World’s First Robotic Surgery to Remove Kidney Cancer Extending into the Heart, Saving Patient from Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death The 10-hour procedure redefines surgical limits, combining cutting-edge robotic expertise with top-notch, multi-disciplinary collaboration.
Breaking research published today in AACC’s Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine reveals that a number of diagnostic tests are less accurate when performed in pediatric patients with impaired kidney function. These findings show that healthcare providers should assess patient kidney function when interpreting clinical test results for certain conditions to ensure that patients receive the correct diagnoses and treatments.
• In 2013, reduced kidney function was associated with 4% of deaths worldwide, or 2.2 million deaths. • More than half of these deaths were cardiovascular deaths.
In patients with chronic kidney disease, low urine ammonium excretion identified individuals at high risk of kidney disease progression or death.
A new Scientific Statement issued by the Endocrine Society advises healthcare providers on ways to spot hormonal causes of high blood pressure that can be cured with surgery or treated effectively with medication.
A new study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC links increased dietary potassium with lower blood pressure.
• Among deceased donor kidney transplant recipients, those who were >30 kg (66 pounds) heavier than the donor had a 28% higher risk of transplant failure compared with equally weighted donors and recipients. • If the kidney was from a smaller donor of the opposite sex, the relative risk of transplant failure was further elevated to 35% for a male receiving a kidney from a female donor and 50% for a female receiving a kidney from a male donor.
Immunologic changes observed in an early study of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (MRCC) raised the possibility for a larger clinical study of combination immunotherapy, according to findings reported by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Advocates from the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) are meeting with Representatives, Senators, and their respective staffs today to urge Congress to continue its historic support of research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to cosponsor and pass the Living Donor Protection Act (H.R. 1270), no-cost legislation to eliminate barriers to living donation and increase access to transplants.
• Colonoscopies are being performed more often on healthier dialysis patients than on those with more limited life expectancies; however, overall, dialysis patients are being screened at a much higher rate relative to their life expectancy than their counterparts without kidney failure.
A symposium on continuous renal replacement therapies in AACN Advanced Critical Care includes an article on the multitude of factors that clinicians should incorporate into drug dosing and medication management during CRRT.
Condemns the Administration’s Proposed Funding Cuts for the National Institute of Health
• In dialysis patients who took 2.5 mg of apixaban twice daily, blood concentrations of the drug were maintained at therapeutic levels.
Using international genomic studies backed by proof-of-concept cell experiments, researchers have identified two genes that contribute to the chronic kidney disease glomerulonephritis.
Last year, when Jamie Hansard, executive director of undergraduate admissions at Texas Tech University, learned she would need a transplant, she said she felt overwhelmed and scared. But thanks to fellow Red Raider Sara Gragg, Hansard not only received a new kidney in a matter of months – she’s already well on her way back to a normal life.
• Sickle cell trait, a common hemoglobin variant in African Americans, was associated with a twofold higher risk of developing kidney failure requiring dialysis. • Sickle cell trait conferred a similar degree of risk as APOL1 gene variants, which are currently the most widely recognized genetic contributors to kidney disease in blacks.
New data from the REGARDS study show that blacks with the sickle cell trait are more likely to develop kidney failure requiring dialysis.
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