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UCLA's Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program improves patients' survival rate

Patients who received kidney transplants through the UCLA Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program had the highest three-year transplant survival rate among patients who underwent the procedure at U.S. centers that perform 80 or more transplants a year, according to new government data.

28 Apr 2011

Five Loyola employees donate kidneys to complete strangers

Loyola University Medical Center is believed to be the first organization in the country, and perhaps the world, in which five employees have each donated kidneys to complete strangers with no strings attached.

28 Apr 2011

Vitamin E effective against severe fatty liver disease in some children

A specific form of vitamin E improved the most severe form of fatty liver disease in some children, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results appear in the April 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. A previous study found vitamin E effective in some adults with the disease.

28 Apr 2011

Women more likely to develop kidney damage after coronary angiogram

Women are at higher risk than men of developing kidney damage after undergoing a coronary angiogram, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

28 Apr 2011

Kava tea may cause kidney failure and muscle breakdown

When a 34-year-old bicyclist was found collapsed on a roadside and rushed to the University of Rochester Medical Center emergency room on the verge of kidney failure and muscle breakdown, doctors were surprised to discover that a trendy tea derived from the kava plant was the cause of his ills.

28 Apr 2011

High metabolic rates linked to accelerated aging in humans

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that higher metabolic rates predict early natural mortality, indicating that higher energy turnover may accelerate aging in humans.

27 Apr 2011

New discoveries on polycystin-1 can lead to novel kidney disease treatment

Two discoveries at UC Santa Barbara point to potential new drug therapies for patients with kidney disease. The findings are published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Apr 2011

ACC/AHA release consensus document to help clinicians reduce risk of hypertension in older adults

Hypertension is very common among older adults. 64 percent of older men and 78 percent of older women have high blood pressure, placing them at heightened risk for heart disease including heart failure, stroke, coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation, as well as chronic kidney disease and diabetes mellitus.

26 Apr 2011

BMY to present belatacept Phase III new data at American Transplant Congress

New data on belatacept, an investigational selective T cell costimulation blocker being studied for use in renal transplantation by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, will be presented at the American Transplant Congress April 30 - May 4, 2011 in Philadelphia.

26 Apr 2011

Former U-M football champion to receive Mott award for his support to the hospital

Patients, hospital staff and football enthusiasts at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital will show their appreciation for former U-M football standout, 1997 Heisman trophy winner and current Green Bay Packer Charles Woodson by proclaiming Thursday, April 28, as Woodson Day.

25 Apr 2011

Bayer's oral contraceptives may increase risk of blood clots, stroke or heart attack

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is aware of two studies published today in The British Medical Journal, ONLINE FIRST.

25 Apr 2011

Oncologists discuss about NCCN updated guidelines at 4th Annual Asia Scientific Congress

More than 1,800 Chinese oncology professionals attended the NCCN 4th Annual Asia Scientific Congress in Shanghai, China, on April 9, 2011, which featured expert faculty from NCCN Member Institutions and thought leaders in cancer care from major Chinese cancer centers.

25 Apr 2011

PVT1 gene may help reduce diabetic nephropathy

A gene called PVT1 may help reduce the kidneys ability to filter blood, leading to kidney disease, kidney failure and death, according to a study published today by researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

25 Apr 2011

Opinions: Fight against malaria; small, medium businesses in developing countries; BP oil spill health implications

Despite progress over the past decade in the global fight against malaria, significant challenges remain, Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and former health minister of Senegal, writes in a Modern Ghana opinion piece ahead of World Malaria Day.

22 Apr 2011

JASN publishes positive results from pirfenidone study in diabetic nephropathy

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and the Mayo Clinic have published promising results of a clinical study using an experimental anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory drug called pirfenidone to treat patients with diabetic nephropathy. Their study will be published in the April 21 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

22 Apr 2011

Elderly individuals with CKD more likely to suffer from heart disease

Chronic kidney disease is common and linked with heart disease in the very elderly, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

22 Apr 2011

Scientists explore the role of microRNA that influences obesity-related traits

Eating more n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, commonly known as omega-3 fatty acids, may help carriers of a genetic variant on the perilipin 4 (PLIN4) gene locus lose weight more efficiently.

21 Apr 2011

Alexion first quarter non-GAAP net income increases to $56.3 million

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported net product sales of Soliris® (eculizumab) of $166.1 million, reflecting steady additions of new patients, compared to $117.6 million for the same period in 2010.

21 Apr 2011

Jennerex and Green Cross report positive phase 2 JX-594 clinical trial for liver cancer

Jennerex, Inc., a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class targeted oncolytic products for cancer, and Green Cross Corporation, a leading company in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of viral vaccines and other biological products, today reported positive clinical data from a Phase 2 trial evaluating JX-594 for liver cancer which was conducted in South Korea.

21 Apr 2011

Ketogenic diet may reverse impaired kidney function in diabetics

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have for the first time determined that the ketogenic diet, a specialized high-fat, low carbohydrate diet, may reverse impaired kidney function in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They also identified a previously unreported panel of genes associated with diabetes-related kidney failure, whose expression was reversed by the diet. The findings were published in the current issue of PLoS ONE.

21 Apr 2011