• In a study of patients with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease, most patients reported chronic pain. • More severe pain was linked with both proper and improper use of pain medications.
• Among patients with chronic kidney disease, patients who consumed high acid diets were 3-times more likely to develop kidney failure than patients who consumed low acid diets. • Low acid load diets are rich in fruits and vegetables, while high acid diets contain more meats.
• An enzyme called heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) affects immune cells as they travel through the body in response to kidney injury. • In mice, the absence of HO-1 leads to poor recovery after acute kidney injury.
• A simple test performed with the FDA-approved medication furosemide, along with a measurement of urine output, can predict which patients with acute kidney injury will later require dialysis. • The test could help clinicians safeguard patients’ kidney health.
• Salt intake accelerated kidney scarring in rats with chronic kidney disease by activating a brain-kidney connection called the renin-angiotensin axis that interlinks the damaged kidney and brain by afferent and efferent sympathetic nerves. • Targeting these nerves reduced salt-induced kidney scarring.
• Both low and high blood calcium levels, as well as high phosphorus levels, were linked with an increased risk of dying prematurely in dialysis patients, regardless of the type of dialysis. • The findings address a pending Medicare quality measure related to dialysis patients’ blood calcium levels.
• A new algorithm is a useful tool for measuring chronic kidney disease patients’ readiness for making decisions about initiating dialysis. • Patients who have knowledge about their options and have fewer lifestyle barriers to home dialysis are more likely to be ready to make decisions. Doctors who explain all of the treatment options that are available can increase patients’ readiness for decision-making.
• Among patients with a kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), those who had certain genetic variants tended to have more advanced disease when they were diagnosed. • Patients with the variants responded to immunosuppressant treatments just as well as other patients but tended to progress more rapidly to kidney failure.
Fewer new cases of end-stage renal disease are being reported in the United States and mortality rates are declining, indicating that patients on dialysis or with a kidney transplant are living longer.
Kidney donors with hypertension had slightly fewer nephrons (the kidney’s filtering units) at the time of donation than similarly aged donors with normal blood pressure; however, 6 months following their surgery, hypertensive and non-hypertensive donors both maintained excellent blood pressure control and had similarly robust compensatory kidney responses.
Frequent kidney dialysis can cause systemic inflammation, leading to complications such as cardiovascular disease and anemia by triggering the complement cascade, part of the innate immune system. Complement is inadvertently activated by modern polymer-based dialysis blood filters. New work has found an effective way to avoid these problems by temporarily suppressing complement during dialysis.
• In patients on dialysis, cinacalcet reduced the rate of bone fracture by 16% to 29%, after accounting for patient characteristics and other factors.
• Decreased blood levels of a protein called Klotho increases the risk of heart disease in mice with chronic kidney disease. • If confirmed in humans, increasing Klotho levels may help protect the hearts of patients with chronic kidney disease.
• A simple model using 5 commonly available variables from electronic health records adequately discriminates between socially disadvantaged individuals with chronic kidney disease who will and will not progress to kidney failure.
Chronic kidney disease affects at least one in four Americans who are older than 60 and can significantly shorten lifespan. Yet the few available drugs for CKD can only modestly delay the disease’s progress towards kidney failure. Now, a team has found an aspect of CKD’s development that points to a promising new therapeutic strategy.
Researchers presented two preliminary studies at ASN Kidney Week 2014 in Philadelphia, PA, that demonstrate the potential of a small-molecule inhibitor of NHE3 to help reduce phosphorus absorption in patients with kidney disease. Patients with reduced kidney function are unable to maintain normal levels of phosphorus, which can lead to hyperphosphatemia.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects at least one in four Americans who are older than 60 and can significantly shorten lifespan. Yet the few available drugs for CKD can only modestly delay the disease’s progress towards kidney failure. Now, a team has found an aspect of CKD’s development that points to a promising new therapeutic strategy.
Researchers have identified genetic markers that may help to identify individuals at risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) in the hospital setting. Presented at ASN Kidney Week 2014 in Philadelphia, PA, the study offers new clues about the development of AKI and could lead to potential therapeutic interventions.
Research published today found that the investigational drug patiromer decreased high potassium levels and maintained normal potassium levels in patients with chronic kidney disease. The results of a multicenter trial appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.
• A 12-week course of aerobic exercise improved physical function and quality of life in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. • The exercise program also decreased patients’ pain.
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