Kidney News and Research

RSS

Discovery of gene that may play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes

Scientists at Stanford University have identified a gene that may play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body's insulin-producing cells. Insulin, a hormone produced by cells of the pancreas, helps the body to absorb sugars found in food and to maintain blood sugar at appropriate levels.

10 Aug 2009

Decode Genetics announces Q2 2009 financials

deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. A conference call to discuss these results and recent developments in the company's business will be webcast live tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11, at 8:00am Eastern Daylight Time/12 noon GMT/1pm British Summer Time (details below).

10 Aug 2009

Scientists discover link between mutations in INPP5E gene and ciliopathies

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have discovered a connection between mutations in the INPP5E gene and ciliopathies. Their findings, which may lead to new therapies for these diseases, will appear in the online edition of Nature Genetics on August 9.

9 Aug 2009

Fumbled hospital discharges can lead to medical errors

Poor communication of the outcomes of medical tests whose results are pending at the time of a patient's hospital discharge is common and can lead to serious medical errors in post-hospitalization medical treatment.

7 Aug 2009

Soliris (Eculizumab) granted orphan drug designation in Europe and U.S. for atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced today that Soliris® (eculizumab), its first-in-class complement inhibitor, has been granted Orphan Medicinal Product Designation by the European Commission for the treatment of patients with atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS). AHUS is an ultra-rare, inherited, and life-threatening complement-inhibitor deficiency disease that often progresses to end-stage kidney disease or failure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug designation to Soliris for the same indication in May 2009. Soliris is not approved for the treatment of patients with aHUS.

6 Aug 2009

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals acquires rights and IP for Renazorb

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals today announced that it has acquired 100% rights to RenaZorb (a family of compounds represented by SPI-014, also known as RZB-014), a lanthanum-based nanotechnology compound with potent and selective phosphate binding properties, for all human and non-human indications.

6 Aug 2009

Importance of increased funding for molecular diagnostics

On July 9, 2009, the Society for Women’s Health Research convened experts on Capitol Hill to educate lawmakers on the importance of increased funding for new medical tests, called molecular diagnostics.

6 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

Cooling unconscious cardiac arrest survivors increases survival, cost effective

Cooling unconscious cardiac arrest survivors can increase survival and has a cost effectiveness comparable to other widely accepted treatments in modern health care, researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

4 Aug 2009

New insight into human ciliopathy

In the September 1st issue of G&D, Dr. Karen Oegema (UCSD) and colleagues identify the molecular basis of the lethal developmental disorder, hydrolethalus syndrome, and reveal that hydrolethalus syndrome actually belongs to the emerging class of human ciliopathy diseases.

4 Aug 2009

Jefferson names endowed Professorship in transplant surgery

Cataldo Doria, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., director, Division of Transplant Surgery, in the Department of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, has been named the Nicoletti Family Professor of Transplant Surgery. This endowed professorship is a generous gift of Robert and Beatrice Nicoletti and their family. The family cited the care they received at Jefferson when Robert received a new kidney donated by his own daughter, as the reason for their donation.

4 Aug 2009

Flaw in bone's material leads to disease

The weak tendons and fragile bones characteristic of osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, stem from a genetic mutation that causes the incorrect substitution of a single amino acid in the chain of thousands of amino acids making up a collagen molecule, the basic building block of bone and tendon.

4 Aug 2009

Carbon nanosensor sniffs out kidney disease

A carbon nanosensor “electronic nose” - first developed by Technion-Israel Institute of Technology researchers to detect cancer from breath samples - has been modified to identify chronic renal failure (CRF).

4 Aug 2009

Lasers and nanotubes offer potential future cancer treatments

By injecting man-made, microscopic tubes into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second zap of a laser, scientists have discovered a way to effectively kill kidney tumors in nearly 80 percent of mice. Researchers say that the finding suggests a potential future cancer treatment for humans.

3 Aug 2009

FDA approves Avastin plus interferon-alfa for people with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Genentech, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Avastin (bevacizumab) plus interferon-alfa for people with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, kidney cancer is the eighth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. In 2009, approximately 13,000 Americans will die from the disease.

3 Aug 2009

FDA approves Onglyza (saxagliptin) for type 2 diabetes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Onglyza (saxagliptin), a once-daily tablet to treat Type 2 diabetes in adults. The medication is intended to be used with diet and exercise to control high blood sugar levels.

2 Aug 2009

U.S. spending on alternative therapies has increased 25 percent in last decade

"While Americans may complain about the high cost of health care, they're still willing to shell out roughly $34 billion a year out-of-pocket on alternative therapies that aren't covered by insurance, a new study shows," USA Today reports.

31 Jul 2009

Health-related quality of life in chronic kidney disease patients

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can significantly lessen patients' quality of life, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Certain types of patients - women, diabetics, and those with a history of heart complications - are most affected.

31 Jul 2009

Short-term complications after bariatric surgery for extreme obesity low

Short-term complications and death rates were low following bariatric surgery to limit the amount of food that can enter the stomach, decrease absorption of food or both, according to the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-1). The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. Results are reported in the July 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Jul 2009

Deferoxamine could help diabetics heal wounds

A drug used to remove iron from the body could help doctors fight one of diabetes' cruelest complications: poor wound healing, which can lead to amputation of patients' toes, feet and even legs.

28 Jul 2009