Kidney News and Research

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Pancreatic duct cells identified as new source of insulin-producing cells

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells can form after birth or after injury from progenitor cells within the pancreas that were not beta cells, a finding that contradicts a widely-cited earlier study that had concluded this is not possible.

24 Nov 2008

Humoral immunity in kidney transplantation

There are more than 76,000 end-stage renal disease patients waiting for one of the 17,000 kidneys transplanted each year, making a host rejection an unacceptable waste.

24 Nov 2008

Understanding lipid storage

Magazine articles describing ways to burn fat, lose weight, etc. are omnipresent in Western culture, but science's understanding of the way fat is stored in the cells of the human body is rather slimmer.

24 Nov 2008

World's first pediatric robotic bladder reconstruction performed

A 10-year-old Chicago girl born with an abnormally small bladder that made her incontinent has become the first patient to benefit from a new robotic-assisted bladder-reconstruction method developed by surgeons at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

20 Nov 2008

Helping diabetics through the holiday season

November ushers in American Diabetes Month - not only a time to be thankful for bustling basic and clinical research underway on the disease, but also the unofficial start of the holiday season.

20 Nov 2008

Low birth weight a risk factor for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Individuals who were underweight at birth are at increased risk of developing a condition called secondary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology ( CJASN ).

19 Nov 2008

Phosphaplatins kill ovarian, testicular, head and neck cancer cells

A new class of compounds called phosphaplatins can effectively kill ovarian, testicular, head and neck cancer cells with potentially less toxicity than conventional drugs, according to a new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

19 Nov 2008

Acute kidney injury predisposes elderly to serious kidney disease

Acute kidney injury (AKI) - which is often caused by trauma, illness, or surgery - predisposes elderly individuals to the most serious form of chronic kidney disease (CKD), known as end stage renal disease (ESRD), according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

19 Nov 2008

Diabetes cost U.S. estimated $217.5 billion in 2007

According to findings from a National Diabetes Economic Barometer study, undiagnosed, pre-diabetes and diabetes cost the United States an estimated $217.5 billion in 2007 due to higher medical expenditures and lost productivity.

18 Nov 2008

Researchers find deadly protein that acts as a cancer master switch

Two critical properties of cancer cells are their ability to divide without restraint and to spread away from the primary tumor to establish new tumor sites.

17 Nov 2008

Scientists identify dangerous 'two-faced' protein crucial to breast cancer spread and growth

Two critical properties of cancer cells are their ability to divide without restraint and to spread away from the primary tumor to establish new tumor sites.

17 Nov 2008

Hypertension may develop undetected in young African-American men

Young and healthy African-American men have higher central blood pressure and their blood vessels are stiffer compared to their white counterparts, signs that the African American men are developing hypertension early and with little outward sign, according to a new study.

17 Nov 2008

Variations within three genes associated with lipid peroxidation could increase kidney cancer risk

A team of international scientists has identified three genes associated with the body's processing of fats that may increase susceptibility to kidney cancer.

17 Nov 2008

Higher levels of blood phosphate may be a previously unidentified and modifiable cardiovascular risk factor

Healthy adults with higher levels of phosphate in the blood are more likely to have increased levels of calcium in the coronary arteries-a key indicator of atherosclerosis and future cardiovascular disease risk, reports a study in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

16 Nov 2008

Novel IBS treatment developed at UB garners $8.5 million for seven-year trial

Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic, debilitating disorder affecting 25 million people in the U.S -- 14-24 percent of women and 5-19 percent of men.

13 Nov 2008

African-Americans with depression and heart attack have greater risk of death

African-American patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and previously treated depression that persists at their MI hospitalization have an increased risk of post-MI death, according to Emory researcher Susmita Parashar, MD, MPH.

12 Nov 2008

Nanoporous ceramic membranes could provide breakthroughs for implantable medical devices

A team of researchers led by North Carolina State University has made a breakthrough that could lead to new dialysis devices and a host of other revolutionary medical implants.

11 Nov 2008

Timing is everything for some heart attack patients

There is strong evidence that getting to the hospital quickly during a heart attack is critical, since early treatment saves both lives and heart muscle. And if the responsible coronary artery is completely blocked, it should be opened as soon as possible.

11 Nov 2008

New genetic kidney atlas will explain kidney disease

An international team of researchers, which included scientists from the University of Queensland, have generated an atlas of genes involved in kidney formation.

11 Nov 2008

Indigenous Australian's inadequately informed about kidney disease

New Australian research has shown that Indigenous Australians with kidney disease are confused, frustrated and feel poorly informed about their illness.

11 Nov 2008