Nephropathy News and Research

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Nephropathy is a broad medical term used to denote disease or damage of the kidney, which can eventually result in kidney failure. The primary and most obvious functions of the kidney are to excrete any waste products and to regulate the water and acid-base balance of the body – therefore loss of kidney function is a potentially fatal condition.

Breast cancer screening may not be cost-effective for older women on dialysis

For older women on dialysis, routine mammograms to screen for breast cancer may not be a cost-effective use of medical resources, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 40th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Francisco.

6 Nov 2007

Medical causes of iatrogenic renal disorders

Nephrologists and other health care providers need to be aware of certain medications and diagnostic test preparations that, in some patients, can cause damage to the kidneys, according to a special clinical update being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 40th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Francisco.

5 Nov 2007

Discovery of master switch that regulates blood pressure

A team of Oregon Health & Science University researchers studying a rare form of hypertension has identified the mechanism by which they believe a protein complex in the kidney operates as a master switch that regulates blood pressure, a finding that has broad implications for the treatment of more common forms of hypertension.

2 Nov 2007

Minority patients do not necessarily have worse outcomes after liver transplantation

When treated at the same medical centers as Caucasians, they fare just as well. These are the results of a new study in the November issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience.

2 Nov 2007

New treatment option studied for bladder cancer

A chemotherapy regimen for patients with advanced bladder cancer who aren't eligible for standard treatment is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

29 Oct 2007

Canadian beef the culprit in E.coli outbreaks in U.S. and Canada

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a warning to the public regarding various beef products.

29 Oct 2007

New and safer infertility treatment produces healthy twins

The treatment known as in-vitro maturation or IVM, enables infertile couples to conceive without the need for the woman to take powerful hormonal drugs to stimulate her ovaries.

28 Oct 2007

Gold-like drugs to treat arthritis

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center may have solved the mystery surrounding the healing properties of gold - a discovery they say may renew interest in gold salts as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

22 Oct 2007

Improvements in survival after dialysis in the elderly

The majority of patients starting dialysis as a result of chronic kidney disease are 65 years or older at the time of their first treatment, and many are over 75 years.

22 Oct 2007

New role discovered for cilia

Johns Hopkins researchers and colleagues have found a previously unrecognized role for tiny hair-like cell structures known as cilia: They help form our sense of touch.

22 Oct 2007

Early intervention dramatically improves outcomes for new dialysis patients

A program of education, close medical follow-up, and self-empowerment for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) newly starting dialysis, reduces complications and improves outcomes - including significant reductions in mortality and hospitalization rates, reports a study in the November Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

19 Oct 2007

HIV linked to increased risk of end-stage renal disease in African-Americans

For African Americans infected with HIV, the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is six times higher than for whites with HIV - and similar to the ESRD risk associated with diabetes, reports a study in the November Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

18 Oct 2007

New mechanism discovered that mammalian cells employ to fight infections of the Hepatitis C virus

A team of researchers led by biologists at the University of California, San Diego has discovered a completely new mechanism that mammalian cells employ to fight infections of the Hepatitis C virus, which affects approximately 2.7 million Americans and 170 million people worldwide.

18 Oct 2007

Oral antibiotics effective to treat severe urinary tract infections

Although doctors routinely use IV antibiotics to cure patients with severe urinary tract infections (UTI), a new review from suggests that oral antibiotics work just as well - from treating acute symptoms to preventing long-term complications of UTI.

17 Oct 2007

Central venous catheters may harm patients

Central venous catheters are commonly used to provide permanent hemodialysis for patients with serious kidney disease.

15 Oct 2007

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genome holds clues for renewable energy, the environment and human health

University of Minnesota researchers contributed to a national effort to sequence the genome of an ancient, one-celled organism that will help advance research in a broad range of areas, from biofuels to restoring the environment to understanding a variety of human diseases.

12 Oct 2007

Lowering blood pressure protects stroke victims with chronic kidney disease from further strokes

New research, published in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology by The George Institute for International Health in Sydney, has found that lowering blood pressure protects stroke victims with Chronic Kidney Disease from further strokes or heart attacks.

8 Oct 2007

Distinctive patterns of behaviour found in dogs that bite children

Dogs that bite children have often not bitten kids before, but they tend to have underlying behavioural or medical problems, indicates research in the journal Injury Prevention.

3 Oct 2007

Noninvasive tests for cirrhosis may help to avoid liver biopsy

Newer ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging tests yield encouraging initial results in diagnosing fibrosis (scarring) and cirrhosis of the liver, according to three studies in the October issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

2 Oct 2007

Painful condition affecting kidney failure patients increases risk of death

A painful and debilitating condition that affects patients with kidney failure may be more common than previously believed and appears to be strongly associated with prior exposure to certain contrast agents used in imaging studies.

29 Sep 2007