Kidney Failure News and Research

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Phase II human clinical trial of Exsulin commences

Exsulin Corporation today announced the start of a phase II human clinical trial of Exsulin, a peptide drug product aimed at restoring insulin production in people with diabetes mellitus. The randomized, controlled 12-week trial in patients with established Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) will be co-led by Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Canada.

10 Sep 2009

NovaBay begins clinical studies for treating impetigo skin infection

NovaBay(R) Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE-Amex: NBY), (http://www.novabaypharma.com), a clinical stage company developing novel anti-infective compounds for the treatment or prevention of a wide range of bacterial, viral and fungal infections, announced today the start of a Phase 2a proof-of-concept study of its lead Aganocide(R) compound NVC-422 in impetigo.

10 Sep 2009

New form of malarial infection identified

Researchers in Malaysia have identified key laboratory and clinical features of an emerging new form of malaria infection. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, confirms the potentially deadly nature of the disease.

10 Sep 2009

Medicare advantage rates could go up, while Part D 'exceeding expectations'

"Despite near-zero inflation and recessionary conditions, health insurers in 2010 face another year of double-digit increases in the charges they pay for hospital services, physicians, drugs, and other healthcare costs," U.S. News and World Report writes in a news column.

4 Sep 2009

Reliable and relevant information needed to rein in the costs of federal health-care programs, says study

For economists and policy-makers to understand the true value of the costs and savings of preventive health programs for chronic disease, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) should incorporate long-term clinical outcomes data and look beyond the 10-year window when making cost estimates, says a team of University of Chicago researchers in today's issue of Health Affairs.

3 Sep 2009

New device for treating hypoglycemia launched globally

At this year’s annual meeting of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Medtronic, Inc. announced the global launch of a novel technology designed to provide additional protection against the risks associated with hypoglycemia.

3 Sep 2009

Novo Nordisk's NCDP provides support for accurate cost and benefit assessments of preventive health

The National Changing Diabetes((R) )Program (NCDP), a program of Novo Nordisk, commends Representative Donna M. Christensen, M.D. (D-VI) and Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) for sponsoring legislation that will lead to a more accurate assessment of the cost and benefits of preventive health, including preventing complications and delaying progression of chronic diseases such as diabetes.

From Novo Nordisk 2 Sep 2009

Blood thinner warfarin may have opposite effects in kidney disease patients on dialysis

The blood thinner warfarin can prevent strokes in most individuals with abnormal heart rhythms, but the drug may have the opposite effect in kidney disease patients on dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that warfarin should be prescribed with caution in patients with kidney failure.

27 Aug 2009

National dialysis treatment program under fire; criticized as too costly, risky

Kidney dialysis treatment in the U.S. is costly and has high death rates, but it doesn't have to be that way, USA Today reports: "The vast majority of the more than 350,000 Americans on dialysis are treated in centers, where three treatments a week, three or four hours each, is the norm — not because it's optimal but because that's the way it has been done for nearly four decades.

25 Aug 2009

Discovery of mutation in AIP gene associated with acromegaly

An indigenous family living in a mountainous area of Malaysian Borneo helped Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers to discover information about genetic mutations associated with acromegaly, a form of gigantism that often results in enlarged hands, feet, and facial features.

24 Aug 2009

Night home hemodialysis offers similar benefits as kidney transplants

For the first time, it has been shown that patients who receive night home hemodialysis live just as long as those who receive kidney transplants from deceased donors.

21 Aug 2009

Kidneys from young donors considered safe and effective for transplantation

In most transplant centers, the kidneys of very young deceased donors are transplanted together into one patient. According to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), a single kidney from a very young deceased donor maintains the health of an adult with kidney failure.

21 Aug 2009

Newly discovered anti-aging gene linked to high blood pressure

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have shown the first link between a newly discovered anti-aging gene and high blood pressure. The results, which appear this month in the journal Hypertension, offer new clues on how we age and how we might live longer.

19 Aug 2009

Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest is cost-effective

A brain-preserving cooling treatment called therapeutic hypothermia is a cost-effective way to improve outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, which claims the lives of more than 300,000 people each year in the United States and leaves thousands of others neurologically devastated.

6 Aug 2009

Intensive glucose control halves complications of longstanding type 1 diabetes

Near-normal control of glucose beginning as soon as possible after diagnosis would greatly improve the long-term prognosis of type 1 diabetes, concludes a study published in the July 27, 2009, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, which updates information about the clinical course of type 1 diabetes.

27 Jul 2009

Treatment blood pressure targets for hypertension

Aiming for lower than standard blood pressure targets offers no known clinical benefit, according to a Cochrane Review. In a systematic review of the evidence, researchers found that using antihypertensive drugs to reduce blood pressure below the 140/90 mm Hg standard was not associated with any reduction in death rates or serious morbidity.

7 Jul 2009

Combining two common medical tests provides new way to screen for serious kidney disease

The combination of two common medical tests can improve a doctor's ability to predict which patients will develop serious kidney disease, a research team led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) reports in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

7 Jul 2009

For America's aged, surgery at any price?

When doctors decide whether or not to go ahead with an expensive surgery, "age is no longer the deciding factor, even for invasive treatment such as open-heart surgery," The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

7 Jul 2009

Blood pressure cuff could help improve the success of kidney transplants

The first clinical trial funded by the new Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme will investigate whether a simple procedure to activate one of the body's natural defence mechanisms improves the function of kidneys after transplantation. This research is funded by the Medical Research Council and managed by the National Institute for Health Research.

25 Jun 2009

e-health enables more personalized medicine; group fights for digital patient rights

Tonia Odom, a 35-year-old patient with rheumatoid arthritis, a sick father and a young son, each of whom has multiple health problems, has found some relief to the problems of managing her families' array of illnesses in at a Duke University clinic that's a model of the "medical home" approach to medicine, the New York Times reports.

23 Jun 2009