Nephrologist News and Research

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New method offers hope to patients in critical need of kidney transplant

Kidneys from deceased donors with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can be safely transplanted into noninfected recipients when a regimen of direct-acting antiviral therapies is initiated as early as two days after the transplant, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

2 Sep 2020

SGLT2 inhibitors can slow CKD progression

850 million people worldwide are affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD) - a worrying figure, and one that continues to rise.

31 Aug 2020

Common hypertension drugs do not increase risk of severe, fatal COVID-19 infection

A new Northwestern Medicine study in mice found a widely used class of drugs to treat patients with hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetic kidney disease - many of whom are elderly -- does not increase the risk of developing a severe and potentially fatal COVID-19 infection, as previously feared.

22 Jul 2020

Study shows immediate dialysis is no better than the conservative approach

In the largest international study of its kind, researchers at the University of Alberta and Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital found that an accelerated renal-replacement therapy strategy did not reduce mortality after three months, compared to a standard strategy for critically ill patients with acute kidney injury.

17 Jul 2020

Vitamin K may offer protective health benefits as we age, study suggests

A new, multi-ethnic study found older adults with low vitamin K levels were more likely to die within 13 years compared to those whose vitamin K levels were adequate.

15 Jun 2020

A family with five doctors — and two COVID deaths

On the morning of April 1, Dr. Priya Khanna inched her way from the bedroom to the front door, using walls, doors and railings to hold herself up long enough to get to the stretcher waiting outside. She had been battling COVID-19 for five days and was struggling to breathe.

11 Jun 2020

A New Era in Diabetes Care: Launch of new report

A new expert-led report has today been launched to help outline key challenges and inequalities in the care of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its associated renal and cardiovascular complications, and highlight some Calls to Action to try and address these gaps for the 53 million Europeans living with T2DM.

5 Jun 2020

Cloth masks may reduce transmission of COVID-19

The evidence shows that cloth masks, particularly those with several layers of cotton cloth, block droplet and aerosol contamination of the environment, which may reduce transmission of COVID-19.

26 May 2020

Non-invasive ventilation mask could reduce aerosolization when treating COVID-19 patients

Led by Lawson Health Research Institute, London Health Sciences Centre, University Health Network and General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, researchers have designed a non-invasive ventilation mask that could significantly reduce aerosolization - the production of airborne respiratory droplets that may contain viruses or bacteria - when treating patients with COVID-19.

13 May 2020

Modified dialysis device treats COVID-19

As part of a randomized controlled trial, a team from Lawson Health Research Institute is the first in the world to treat a patient with COVID-19 using a modified dialysis device.

7 May 2020

Cytokine storms created by COVID-19 could be reduced by using blood filter

Cytokine storms created by COVID-19 are causing major organ destruction and death, and for the first time in the United States, when patients begin to show signs of trouble, physicians are replacing the usual filter in a kidney dialysis machine with a filter known to trap these tiny proteins, with the goal of avoiding the devastation.

6 May 2020

Using photoacoustic imaging to visualize scarring in donor kidneys before transplant

When kidney transplants first came into practice in the 1950s, patients with chronic kidney disease could finally picture freedom from the unrelenting routine of blood-cleansing dialysis treatments. Just over a half-century later, demand has completely outstripped supply.

2 May 2020

A desperate scramble as COVID-19 families vie for access to plasma therapy

Stephen Garcia's family is frantic. The auto body worker, just 32 years old, has been on a ventilator in a Los Angeles-area hospital for nearly two weeks, gravely ill with COVID-19, unresponsive — and unaware of the battle they're waging on his behalf.

15 Apr 2020

Using computer software to optimize treatment for diabetic kidney diseases

Diabetic kidney diseases are the main cause of kidney failure in industrialized countries. An international, EU-funded R&D project - which is being headed by the Medical University of Innsbruck, and involves collaboration with the Medical University of Vienna and international partners - is being implemented with the aim of using computer software to provide personalized predictions of the disease's progression and bring about improvements in individuals' responses to treatment.

9 Apr 2020

How to avoid coronavirus? Lessons from people whose lives depend on it

Andrea Amelse knows hand-washing.

11 Mar 2020

Researchers find no improvement in ICU death rate at minority-serving hospitals

Racial disparities have previously been identified across a range of health care environments, sometimes extending into the highest levels of care. A new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center reveals that while critical care outcomes in intensive care units (ICUs) steadily improved over a decade at hospitals with few minority patients, ICUs with a more diverse patient population did not progress comparably.

17 Jan 2020

Scientists identify 'modifier gene' that determines severity of inherited kidney disease

Scientists have developed a new way to understand complex genetic diseases and have identified a gene that modifies the severity of inherited kidney disease, paving the way for personalised treatments.

9 Jan 2020

House Energy and Commerce Committee scheduled to hold hearing on immunosuppressive drug coverage

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday, January 8, on the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2019, advancing a long-standing legislative priority of the American Society of Nephrology.

9 Jan 2020

New dialysis approach provides high levels of satisfaction for kidney patients

A new study reports high levels of patient satisfaction with a minimally invasive approach to creating vascular access for kidney patients who require hemodialysis.

5 Dec 2019

New technique to detect common cause for diseases related to thrombotic microangiopathies

There is a group of diseases whose symptoms have a common origin: a lesion in the endothelial tissue that covers the inside of the blood vessels.

8 Nov 2019