Kidney News and Research

RSS

New self-monitoring blood glucose sensor uses tear fluid as sample

People with diabetes could be helped by a new type of self-monitoring blood glucose sensor being developed by Arizona State University engineers and clinicians at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

16 Mar 2011

Researchers identify genetic cause of magnesium deficiency

Researchers and scientists of the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, in cooperation with the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, and colleagues from the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the Czech Republic have succeeded in identifying a genetic cause of magnesium deficiency.

16 Mar 2011

Gadavist approved by FDA for use in central nervous system MRI scans

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gadavist (gadobutrol), a gadolinium-based contrast agent, for use in patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the central nervous system.

16 Mar 2011

Type 2 diabetes drug less likely to cause weight gain, raise cholesterol levels

An inexpensive type 2 diabetes drug that has been around for more than 15 years works just as well and has fewer side effects than a half-dozen other, mostly newer and more expensive classes of medication used to control the chronic disease, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

15 Mar 2011

Researchers discover new gene for Sensenbrenner syndrome

Dutch researchers of the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen found a new gene for Sensenbrenner syndrome (Journal of Medical Genetics, 2011 Mar 4). The mutation adds support to the hypothesis that defects in ciliar transport are the cause of the disease. Project leader Dr. Heleen H. Arts is supported by a Kolff Junior Postdoc Grant of the Dutch Kidney Foundation.

14 Mar 2011

New drug for Lupus approved

A new drug for lupus has won U.S. approval. The drug, Benlysta from Human Genome Sciences Inc., is administered once a month intravenously.

12 Mar 2011

Scientific advances at Scripps Research lay foundation for new lupus drug Benlysta

Scientific advances at The Scripps Research Institute were key to laying the foundation for the new drug Benlysta® (belimumab), approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Benlysta®, which treats the most common type of lupus, is the first in a new class of pharmaceuticals that prevents the body from attacking its own critical tissues.

11 Mar 2011

FMCNA encourages high blood pressure, diabetes people to learn about risk of CKD

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes of chronic kidney disease, a health problem that is growing at an alarming rate in the United States. There are 26 million Americans who have CKD, and millions more are at increased risk and may not even know it.

11 Mar 2011

Organ removal surgery through body's orifices, without any visible incisions

The Chicago Park District physical instructor needed a way to get the surgery performed without being laid up for weeks so she opted for an innovative minimally invasive procedure called Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) that would allow surgeons to perform organ removal surgery without any visible incisions and have her back on her feet the same day.

11 Mar 2011

NIH awards Avaxia Phase I SBIR grant to develop novel antibody therapeutic for celiac disease

Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a privately-held biotech company using its proprietary platform technology to develop orally-active antibody therapeutics for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, announced today that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support the development of a novel antibody therapeutic for celiac disease.

11 Mar 2011

Seattle Children's Hospital inaugurates new dialysis unit

Today, timed with World Kidney Day, Seattle Children's Hospital announced the opening of its newly renovated dialysis unit. The unit will significantly improve patient comfort and safety compared to its predecessor facility, and includes an additional 630 square feet of space for a total of nearly 2,400 square feet.

11 Mar 2011

Depression is linked with increased risk of developing kidney failure

Depression is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney failure in the future, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

10 Mar 2011

AHF unveils new national advertising campaign about AIDS drugs

AIDS Healthcare Foundation today unveiled a new national advertising campaign headlined, "There Is No Magic Pill," an advocacy and awareness campaign to educate and prompt discussion among gay men and others regarding Gilead Sciences and its likely plans to seek Food and Drug Administration approval for use of its blockbuster AIDS drug Truvada as a form a 'pre-exposure prophylaxis' to prevent HIV transmission.

10 Mar 2011

CUBN gene mutation linked with albuminuria in individuals with or without diabetes

A team of researchers from the United States and Europe has identified a single genetic mutation in the CUBN gene that is associated with albuminuria both with and without diabetes. Albuminuria is a condition caused by the leaking of the protein albumin into the urine, which is an indication of kidney disease.

9 Mar 2011

FDA accepts BMY and AstraZeneca's dapagliflozin NDA for review

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review a New Drug Application for dapagliflozin, an investigational compound for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

9 Mar 2011

Diabetes belt mapped out in the US

A government commissioned team of researchers has now identified a diabetes belt in the U.S. County-by-county mapping shows that the highest rates of diabetes cut two paths - one strung through Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia, and another running eastward from Louisiana through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. This belt also touches parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. High-diabetes pockets crop up in Oklahoma, Michigan, Arizona, the Dakotas and elsewhere. The belt includes 644 counties in 15 states with the highest diabetes rates.

8 Mar 2011

Lab made urinary tube going strong after six years of transplant

In a scientific breakthrough, five boys who were unable to urinate due to pelvic injury were cured for up to six years after getting new lab-grown urethras or urinary tubes that connect with the bladder. This breakthrough comes from Wake Forest University researcher Anthony Atala. It was in 2006 that the team reported the first successful implantation of lab-grown urinary bladders into humans. Today six years after the operation all of the boys continue to do well, with normal or near-normal urinary flow. The boy first treated is now 16 years old and received his lab-grown urethra over six years ago.

8 Mar 2011

New clinical trial to assess antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected individuals based on CD4 counts

A major new clinical trial seeks to determine whether HIV-infected asymptomatic individuals have less risk of developing AIDS or other serious illness if they begin taking antiretrovirals sooner rather than later, based on their level of CD4+ T-cells.

8 Mar 2011

New Lupus drug marching towards approval

A new drug for lupus from the Human Genome Sciences Inc is all set to get clearance in the US this week. If all goes through, this drug will offer patients the first approved treatment option in a half-century, setting the manufacturer up for huge sales.

7 Mar 2011

Now get a 3-D kidney printout to replace damaged kidneys: A regeneration science innovation

In what seems like science fiction, Dr. Anthony Atala, a regenerative medicine specialist at Wake Forest University, is pioneering the use of printing techniques to reconstruct and repair human flesh and organs. His basis is a combination of cultured human cells and scaffolding built or woven from organic material.

7 Mar 2011