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.

CAV1 gene variation contributes to kidney transplant failure: JAMA

Among kidney transplant donors, variation of a gene that is an inhibitor of the development of fibrous connective tissue is significantly associated with an increased risk of graft failure, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.

7 Apr 2010

Study provides benchmark data to evaluate quality of management of sickle cell disease

The largest study to date of the use of acute care medical services by people with sickle cell disease found four of every 10 had to return to the hospital within 30 days of a previous hospitalization or go to the emergency department for treatment of pain, according to a new study funded in part by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

7 Apr 2010

Sickle cell disease: Rehospitalization rates high

7 Apr 2010

Newer treatments, closer monitoring of childhood cancer may improve longevity

Although more children today are surviving cancer than ever before, young patients successfully treated in the 1970s and 80s may live a decade less, on average, than the general population, according to a study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard School of Public Health.

7 Apr 2010

Childhood cancer survivors may not survive long says new study

Children who have survived a cancer are at a higher risk of an early death says two new studies. The first report published in the April 6th issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, said that there was a cumulative effect of the disease, a childhood cancer and its treatment on the risk of death in 15 year old patients who have been cancer free for at least 5 years.

6 Apr 2010

U.S. Marshals seizes unapproved drug products

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals on March 31 seized a range of consumer products, including creams, capsules, tablets, gum, throat spray, and shampoos from a Haywood, Wis., manufacturer.

6 Apr 2010

Juventas Therapeutics commences enrollment in Phase I trial of JVS-100 for treatment of Class III heart failure

Juventas Therapeutics, a privately held, clinical-stage regenerative medicine company announced it has started enrolling patients in a Phase I clinical trial for JVS-100 to evaluate safety and efficacy in the treatment of patients with Class III heart failure. JVS-100 encodes Stromal Cell-derived Factor-1 (SDF-1) and has been shown in pre-clinical studies to significantly increase cardiac function by promoting cell survival and increasing new blood vessel formation in the damaged organ.

5 Apr 2010

Donate Life America survey reveals pervasive donation myths

According to a new survey by Donate Life America, 43 percent of people are undecided, reluctant or do not wish to have their organs and tissue donated after their deaths. While an improvement over findings from a similar survey last year in which 50 percent reported the same, the statistic illustrates a critical need to continue to increase the level of support for organ donation to save the lives of the more than 105,000 adults and children on the transplant waiting list in the U.S., an average 18 of whom die each day waiting.

5 Apr 2010

NHS cancer patients to receive latest and best treatments available

Cancer patients on the National Health Service may soon be offered expensive life extending drugs which are currently denied to them. David Cameron has proposed on behalf of the Conservatives that the drugs that are licensed and prescribed by the health consultant of the patient should be made available to the cancer patient, irrespective of the NHS rationing.

5 Apr 2010

Loyola University Medical Center launches 'Pay-it-Forward Kidney Transplant Program'

It's extremely rare when someone asking for nothing in return steps forward at a hospital and offers to donate a kidney to a complete stranger.

2 Apr 2010

Amherst Dialysis staff honored with End Stage Renal Disease Patient Safety Improvement Award

Laura Simms has spent 12 hours a week receiving hemodialysis treatment since last fall, when her kidneys failed as a result of high blood pressure. The 50-year-old Monroe resident says the staff at University of Virginia Health System's Amherst Dialysis clinic have become like family to her.

2 Apr 2010

Hepatitis C infected donor kidneys thrown away despite urgent need

More than half of donor kidneys in the United State infected with hepatitis C are thrown away, despite the need among hepatitis C patients who may die waiting for an infection-free organ, Johns Hopkins research suggests.

2 Apr 2010

Exchange donor programs are viable alternatives for blood-group incompatible transplants

2 Apr 2010

Gene linked to kidney cancer in children discovered

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have identified two genes linked to Wilms' tumour - a type of childhood kidney cancer - according to research published in Clinical Cancer Research.

2 Apr 2010

Living donor exchange poses new option for liver transplantation

Two major transplant centers in Hong Kong and South Korea released results from their paired donor exchange programs for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). A single paired exchange, performed by the Hong Kong team under emergency circumstances, was a success. The Korean team reported 16 donor exchanges conducted over a 6-year period were successful. Full details of this novel approach to organ transplantation appear in the April issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

1 Apr 2010

FDA clears Sysmex America's XT-4000i Automated Hematology Analyzer

Sysmex America, Inc., a leading medical diagnostic instrument manufacturer and information systems developer, today announced that its Sysmex XT-4000i™ Automated Hematology Analyzer has been cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

From Sysmex America, Inc. 1 Apr 2010

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Takeda Pharmaceutical announce Feraheme collaboration

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today jointly announced that the companies have entered into a license, development and commercialization agreement related to Feraheme® (ferumoxytol) Injection for intravenous (IV) use in all therapeutic indications.

1 Apr 2010

FDA accepts for review Abbott's novel diagnostic test for rapid detection of NGAL

A novel diagnostic test to rapidly detect neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), an early biomarker that identifies patients at risk for acute kidney injury (AKI), has been accepted for review by the United States Food and Drug Administration. If approved, this would be the first test available for use in the United States for the detection of NGAL.

1 Apr 2010

New index developed to determine risk of death in patients with end-stage kidney disease

A new clinical prediction index has been developed to determine the risk of death in patients with end-stage kidney disease considering transplantation, states a Research article in CMAJ.

1 Apr 2010

Hemosphere completes $9.3M venture capital financing

Hemosphere, Inc., a private medical device company, has completed a late round of venture capital financing totaling $9.3 million. The company has developed the HeRO® Vascular Access Device, which provides access for hemodialysis - the process of filtering waste products from blood when kidneys are in renal failure - similar to a conventional graft.

1 Apr 2010