Kidney News and Research

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African-American children have higher risk of hypertension

Persistently high blood pressure, or hypertension, may spell worse heart trouble for black children under the age of 13 than for other children of the same ages, according to research led by scientists at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and published in the November issue of Pediatrics.

18 Oct 2010

FDA plans to revoke knee implant approval following intense political pressure for its approval

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it planned to revoke a medical-device company's right to sell a knee implant called Menaflex after an unprecedented yearlong review concluded the agency erred in allowing it on the market

18 Oct 2010

Six-year data of reinforces efficacy and safety of Reclast injection in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Novartis announced today that new six-year data reinforce the long-term efficacy and safety profile of once-yearly Reclast (zoledronic acid) injection in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. The study of more than 1,200 women was presented this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) in Toronto, ON, Canada.

18 Oct 2010

Questcor's H.P. Acthar Gel sNDA for infantile spasms receives FDA approval

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Questcor's supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for H.P. Acthar® Gel (repository corticotropin injection) in the treatment of infantile spasms (IS), an ultra-rare orphan disorder affecting approximately 2,000 American children annually. IS is a devastating and potentially life-threatening form of epilepsy seen in infancy and early childhood.

15 Oct 2010

Research team creates first 'lipidome' of human plasma

Human blood is famously fraught with fats; now researchers have a specific idea of just how numerous and diverse these lipids actually are. A national research team, led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has created the first "lipidome" of human plasma, identifying and quantifying almost 600 distinct fat species circulating in human blood.

15 Oct 2010

MRI-guided laser ablation offers way to kill tumors

Physicians at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus are among the first in the nation to use a technique known as MRI-guided laser ablation to heat up and destroy kidney and liver tumors. So far, five patients have been successfully treated meaning no visible tumors remained after the procedure.

15 Oct 2010

NIH awards two new grants to develop Avidocin platform

AvidBiotics today announced the receipt of two new grants totaling $1 million dollars from the National Institutes of Health that further the development of the company's novel Avidocin™ platform for narrow spectrum antibacterial proteins against important health care threats. These grants add to three previous grants covering AvidBiotics' anti-infectious disease technologies, which provide approximately $3.4 million in currently active funding for the company.

15 Oct 2010

Cancer cluster among Sydney Harbour Bridge workers triggers investigation

There are reports of a cancer cluster among Sydney Harbour Bridge workers with at least eight known cases that unions believe are linked to the use of lead paint. The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) will investigate the matter. Of the eight workers five have already died and all of them had been involved in painting and maintaining the bridge for more than 10 years, the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said. This included scraping off lead paint, initially with little protective equipment.

14 Oct 2010

Improving muscle mass benefits kidney disease patients

Kidney disease patients are healthier and live longer if they've beefed up their muscles, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The results suggest that patients may benefit from pumping iron or taking medications to boost their lean body mass.

14 Oct 2010

LFA announces award of new grants for lupus research

The Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA) today announced the awarding of six new research grants to address gaps in the science and understanding of key areas of lupus research, including pediatric lupus, reproductive health issues in people with lupus, lupus nephritis (kidney involvement), and neuropsychiatric lupus, which affects the brain and nervous system.

14 Oct 2010

Bariatric surgery reduces healthcare costs for morbidly obese diabetics

New data presented today at Obesity 2010, the 28th annual scientific meeting of The Obesity Society, find that bariatric surgery is associated with reduced healthcare costs for diabetes patients who are morbidly obese.

13 Oct 2010

Researchers develop new therapy to overcome tissue incompatibility in kidney transplantation

Donor kidneys can be successfully transplanted even if there is strong tissue incompatibility between donor and recipient. An interdisciplinary working group headed by Dr. Christian Morath, senior consultant at the Department of Nephrology at Heidelberg University Hospital (Medical Director: Professor Dr. Martin Zeier) and Professor Dr. Caner S-sal, head of antibody laboratory in the Department of Transplantation Immunology, showed in a study of 34 sensitized high-risk patients that the success rate in these patients was not different from the success rate of patients with a low immunological risk.

13 Oct 2010

Kuwait Healthy Life Study to examine metabolic health in children

In the face of a dramatic worldwide increase in adolescent obesity and Type 2 diabetes, The Forsyth Institute today announced a research alliance with the Dasman Diabetes Institute of Kuwait to initiate studies that could lay a scientific basis for prevention. This collaboration, called The Kuwait Healthy Life Study, will examine conditions in children that predispose them to obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

13 Oct 2010

US Oncology enrolls 1,000th patient in Phase I clinical trial

US Oncology, Inc., the nation's leading integrated oncology company, announced today that it has enrolled the 1,000th patient in a Phase I clinical trial through its US Oncology Research Network. Phase I clinical trials present special challenges, including increased safety concerns, higher variability of patient disease, more complex trial designs, and some first-in-human trials, making Phase I trials more difficult to operate in the community setting.

13 Oct 2010

Challenges in provision of high-quality health care at end of life

Health care in the last six months of life has become progressively more expensive for patients with heart failure both among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States and older adults in Canada, with a high rate of hospitalizations in the final six months of life in both countries, according to two reports posted online today that will be published in the February 14 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

Estrogen therapy may increase risk of kidney stones in postmenopausal women: Study

The use of estrogen therapy by postmenopausal women might increase the risk of developing kidney stones, according to findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers.

12 Oct 2010

Estrogen therapy increases risk of kidney stone development in postmenopausal women

Use of estrogen therapy is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney stones in postmenopausal women, according to a report in the October 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

AVEO presents tivozanib Phase 2 study results at ESMO Congress

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced that previously reported results from its Phase 2 study evaluating tivozanib for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were presented at the 35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Milan, Italy.

11 Oct 2010

ALung Technologies announces closing of $14 Million Series A financing round

ALung Technologies, Inc. today announced that the Company has closed a $14 Million Series A financing round. The investment will support ongoing clinical trials of the Hemolung™ Respiratory Assist System and its subsequent commercialization. The Company's Hemolung device is expected to help many patients with acute respiratory failure to avoid intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation.

11 Oct 2010

ESC pleased with European Health Award recognition for Chronic Disease Alliance

The European Society of Cardiology is delighted to see the European Health Award 2010 handed to the Chronic Disease Alliance at the 13th European Health Forum held in Gastein 6 - 9 October 2010.

11 Oct 2010