Nephrology News and Research

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Nephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.

Vitamin E effective in treating NASH: Study

Vitamin E has been shown effective in treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, an obesity-associated chronic liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death. NASH also is related to or a part of type 2 diabetes, lipid disorders and cardiovascular disease.

3 May 2010

Codeine containing preparations lose their OTC status

It will get more difficult to procure Codeine based pain killers, cough syrups etc. from the local pharmacists from now on. There have been new restrictions over codeine based drugs like Nurofen Plus, Panadeine and Mersyndol which were initially sold over the counter but lost this OTC status with effect from May 1st 2010. The National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee formulated the changes during meetings in June and October last year.

2 May 2010

Kidney transplant recipients have higher risk of cancer: Researchers

Kidney transplant recipients are known to have a higher risk of cancer, compared to the general population, due to the need to take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection. Results published today from a significant, long-term study suggest that no single medication appears to increase this cancer risk.

30 Apr 2010

Excess urinary protein excretion increases risk of kidney, heart complications in people with hypertension

Healthy people with high blood pressure who excrete a slight excess of protein in the urine raise their risk of developing kidney and heart complications. According to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN), more attention should focus on the potential health effects of urinary protein excretion in individuals with high blood pressure (hypertension).

30 Apr 2010

No single immunosuppressive medication increases cancer risk in kidney transplant recipients

Drugs taken by kidney transplant recipients to prevent organ rejection carry similar risks of cancer, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that no single medication is to blame for the higher incidence of cancer seen among patients who have undergone transplantation.

30 Apr 2010

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital opens new Center for Fetal Health

Complex fetal diagnoses bring extraordinary strain to pregnant women and their families. Learning an eagerly-awaited child will be born with a medical problem is often the worst crisis an expectant parents can face.

30 Apr 2010

Hormone mimic Octreotide promising for treatment of polycystic liver disease caused by ADPKD: Study

A hormone mimic called Octreotide may be effective for treating polycystic liver disease (PLD) caused by ADPKD, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The study is the first clinical trial performed in the United States to test the effects of this agent in PLD.

30 Apr 2010

Dietary changes may help alleviate celiac disease, says study

New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that striking a balance of intestinal microbiota could play a role in early stages of celiac disease-related immune responses

30 Apr 2010

States crack down on discount health plans

Kaiser Health News: "State regulators are cracking down on a health care product that targets the growing group of uninsured and underinsured Americans: the discount health plan.

30 Apr 2010

Experts see 'lump sums' in health spending's future

Los Angeles Times/Dallas Morning News: Some elite California hospitals will begin "bundling" their fees for joint replacement surgeries into a single lump sum in an attempt to rethink the current pricing system that leaves "hospitals and doctors charging separately for their services," driving "up costs while leaving no one to coordinate decisions about patient care."

30 Apr 2010

Bristol-Myers Squibb reports 11% increase in first-quarter 2010 revenue

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today reported strong sales and earnings growth for the first quarter of 2010.

30 Apr 2010

6 transplant surgeons perform 16 surgeries over 3 days in landmark domino paired kidney exchange

Chicago resident Maria Isho had been waiting for over nine years for a kidney transplant. Her body was highly sensitized, meaning that her body had built up antibodies in the blood, which made it difficult for her to find a match. To stay healthy, she endured a grueling dialysis regimen which diminished her quality of life and left her feeling physically drained.

29 Apr 2010

PAF annual report offers summary of issues impacting Americans' access to healthcare

Patient Advocate Foundation -- a national non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability relative to their diagnosis of life threatening or debilitating diseases -- today released their annual Patient Data Analysis Report, which documents the scope and complexity of the healthcare finance, access and job retention issues routinely confronted by patients at the national and state-specific level.

29 Apr 2010

Bristol-Myers Squibb to present on belatacept at American Transplant Congress

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced today that belatacept, an investigational selective T cell co-stimulation blocker being studied for use in solid organ transplantation, will be the subject of eight clinical presentations related to kidney transplantation at the American Transplant Congress, being held May 1 - 5 in San Diego.

29 Apr 2010

Investigators study Pioglitazone and Vitamin E for treatment of NASH

A daily dose of a specific form of vitamin E significantly improved the liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. Results were published April 28 online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

29 Apr 2010

SBRT shows promise in treatment of lung, liver and spinal tumors: Clinical experts

Radiosurgical approaches to cancer treatment are showing promise in the treatment of lung, liver, and spinal tumors, according to four leading clinical experts who presented at a symposium in New York earlier this month.

28 Apr 2010

Research reveals therapeutic benefit of ACTH in treatment of osteonecrosis

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found a potential new treatment for osteonecrosis, or the death of bone tissue, in people who are treated with steroids for several common medical conditions. There are currently no treatment options for people with this debilitating disease. The research is published in the April 27 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

28 Apr 2010

High dose B-vitamin therapy slows progression of diabetic nephropathy: Study

Patients with diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease caused by diabetes) who received high dose B-vitamin therapy experienced a more rapid decline in kidney function and had a higher rate of heart attack and stroke than patients who received placebo, according to a study in the April 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Apr 2010

Potential new treatment for osteonecrosis

28 Apr 2010

Phase II clinical trial to test safety and efficacy of transplanted encapsulated islets

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation announced today that it is partnering with Living Cell Technologies, a New Zealand-based biotechnology company focused on developing cell based therapeutics, in a Phase II clinical trial to study the safety and effectiveness of transplanting encapsulated insulin-producing cells from pigs as a treatment for type 1 diabetes with significant hypoglycemia unawareness.

28 Apr 2010