The diabetes drug empagliflozin may decrease the risk of kidney stones in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study presented Sunday, June 12 at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga.
A recent study examined how uncertainty surrounding the evolving COVID-19 pandemic influenced shared decision-making between clinicians, older patients with chronic kidney disease, and their care partners.
The team of UC Santa Barbara biochemist Thomas Weimbs published the results of a clinical study that gives the first indication that ketogenic diets may be safe and effective in patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD).
Cedars-Sinai clinicians and scientists, including anti-rejection therapy pioneer Stanley Jordan, MD, will share their latest advances in research at the American Transplant Congress (ATC), June 4-8, 2022, in Boston. The ATC is the joint annual meeting of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the American Society of Transplantation.
A recent study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers has revealed that consuming at least one cup of coffee a day may reduce the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) when compared to those who do not drink coffee.
In a study of individuals on hemodialysis who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, most had a mild course of COVID-19, but 39%were hospitalized and 13% died.
Cells produce proteins like little factories. But if they make too much at the wrong times it can lead to diseases like cancer, so they control production with a process called RNA interference (RNAi).
• Although clinical trials have linked diabetes medications called sodium glucose transport-2 inhibitors to higher bone fracture risks, a large study found no additional risks when the medications were compared with diabetes drugs not associated with fractures.
• The findings applied to older adults with normal kidney function as well as to those with mild or moderate kidney disease.
Researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine are enrolling volunteers in an investigational drug trial for hypogonadal men with chronic kidney disease.
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is calling on kidney health professionals to take action to address the impact of climate change on the 850 million people—including more than 37 million Americans—living with kidney diseases across the world who are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
New research from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and collaborators from other institutions provides insights into some of the genetic characteristics resulting in the development of relapse in patients with Wilms tumor (nephroblastoma), the most common type of pediatric cancer of the kidney.
2011 changes in policies and recommendations related to the use of erythropoietin-stimulating agents were associated with lower hemoglobin levels and lower risks of major adverse cardiovascular events, mortality, and stroke among adults receiving hemodialysis, but with a higher risk of heart attack.
Hackensack University Medical Center surgeon performs kidney donor procedure using a single-incision laparoscopic approach — marking the first time the surgical technique has been used at the hospital.
Anyone who is taking a diuretic and a renin-angiotensin system (RSA) inhibitor for high blood pressure should be cautious about also taking ibuprofen, according to new research.
Featured studies include clinical advances with a new combination therapy targeting angiogenesis in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and a promising immunotherapy combination for kidney cancer, plus laboratory studies that focus on targeting ferroptosis in specific lung cancers, developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasms, and characterizing racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer early detection.
Relief™ Stent, a new urinary stent invented by Lee Ponsky, MD, in collaboration with Dean Secrest, secured FDA 510k clearance, which means it can be marketed in the U.S. for patients suffering from kidney stones and other issues causing difficulty with drainage of the kidney.
In hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin was well tolerated regardless of kidney function, but did not significantly lower patients’ risk of organ failure, kidney problems, or death compared with placebo.
Proper function of the kidney is critical for concentrating urine, regulating blood pressure, and for the tight control of electrolyte levels in the blood.
The risk of major complications for people who donate a kidney via laparoscopic surgery is minimal. That is the conclusion of a 20-year Mayo Clinic study of more than 3,000 living kidney donors. Only 2.5% of patients in the study experienced major complications, and all recovered completely.
Black kidney transplant recipients have a faster clearance rate of the immunosuppressive drug tacrolimus than white recipients, according to a new study led by the University at Buffalo. The study, published earlier this year in Pharmacotherapy, is one of the first to examine how both race and sex influence tacrolimus pharmacokinetics.
About 5,000 children and teens in the United States are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each year, and the rate is increasing about 5% annually, putting thousands of children at risk for diabetic kidney disease (DKD). While DKD is still considered relatively rare in children, Katherine Kutney, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University, expects cases to increase from pandemic-induced obesity—the lack of physical activity, more time spent stationary in front of computer screens. But DKD in children may be slowed with medication therapy if signs of the disease can be detected early and monitored—the goal of new research Kutney will pursue with a 2021 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award.
While 2021 proved to be a record-breaking year for organ donation in the U.S., many people are still hesitant to register to become a donor. Nationwide, only about 48% of people are registered to be organ donors, according to LifeSource. That's despite surveys showing that 95% of people in the U.S. support organ donation.
Researchers have successfully used a virtual population to replicate a clinical trial that examined kidney damage in Black Americans, according to a new study at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Embargoed press materials are now available for the Experimental Biology (EB) 2022 meeting, featuring cutting-edge research from across the life sciences. EB 2022, to be held April 2–5 in Philadelphia, is the annual meeting of five scientific societies bringing together thousands of scientists and 25 guest societies in one interdisciplinary community.
• Researchers have developed and validated a new instrument to measure CKD- and transplant-related knowledge in a racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse group of patients with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease.
Elizabeth Dravis was a medical field professional, a PhD student at UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston, an avid runner, and mother of two when she started to suffer from extreme fatigue at the beginning of the year. Dravis thought she just needed to rest after a busy holiday season until her symptoms progressively worsened and she passed out.
Renowned robotic urologic oncology surgeon Dipen J. Parekh, M.D., was the first in the nation to test a new preoperative surgical rehearsal technology recently approved by the Food & Drug Administration for all genitourinary conditions. The kidney models, made by Lazarus 3D, provide an additional preparation tool for some surgical procedures.
Today advocates of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and American Association of
Kidney Patients (AAKP) will meet with their Congressional delegations to ask for new policies to
improve kidney health for 37 million Americans living with kidney diseases.
Kenneth Lieberman, M.D., chief of Pediatric Nephrology at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, and professor of Pediatrics at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, has received the 2022 Excellence in Care Award from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), a research and advocacy organization. He is the first New Jersey pediatric nephrologist to receive the honor.
An innovative technique called burst wave lithotripsy (BWL) may provide an effective, more accessible alternative for noninvasive treatment of kidney stones, according to initial human studies reported in The Journal of Urology®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
• There’s a push to transition dialysis care in the United States from in-center to home-based dialysis (including peritoneal dialysis), but a new review has identified several cost considerations that limit the use of peritoneal dialysis.
• Addressing these barriers may help to incentivize a switch to peritoneal dialysis.
People with chronic kidney disease over the age of 65 who are not candidates for transplant should be given the opportunity to not decide to begin dialysis in order to ensure informed decision-making, according to a new Rutgers paper.
The Donor Care Network has designated Loyola University Medical Center as a Center of Excellence. The Donor Care Network helps ensure living kidney donors are treated with the utmost courtesy and respect by implementing best practices and recognizing facilities that adhere to their guiding principles. The designation will help Loyola improve patient access to living kidney donor transplants through the National Kidney Registry.
As we observe World Kidney Day 2022 and recognize all the incredible advances in our field, we must pause and remember members of the kidney community in war-torn countries. This year’s World Kidney Day theme, “Kidney Health for All,” underscores harsh inequities that currently exist around the world. Global attention is currently on the war in Ukraine; many other countries—such as Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—are also in conflict.
• Compared with individuals on dialysis who were not vaccinated against COVID-19, those who had received 2 mRNA vaccine doses were 69% and 83% less likely to become infected or experience severe disease, respectively.
• There were no significant differences in vaccine effectiveness among age groups, mode of dialysis, or vaccine type.