Kidney Disease News and Research

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Rates for new cases of kidney failure have stabilized

After 20 years of annual increases from 5 to 10 percent, rates for new cases of kidney failure have stabilized, according to new research from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). At the same time, dramatic racial disparities persist.

11 Oct 2005

Osmolyte findings could have implications for the study of Alzheimer's disease, cystic fibrosis, kidney disease

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have developed a new way to predict the ability of certain small molecules to protect proteins in the cells of a wide variety of organisms living in extreme environments.

9 Oct 2005

GRK5 protein plays important role in hypertension

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have implicated a protein called GRK5 as having an important role behind essential hypertension, which affects more than 65 million Americans.

5 Oct 2005

Study paves the way for new therapeutic targets which can potentially improve heart disease in patients with end-stage kidney failure

Night-time hemodialysis patients may have a greater capacity to repair their hearts and blood vessels compared to those on conventional dialysis three times a week, according to a study in the October issue of the American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society.

4 Oct 2005

Role of asymmetric dimethylarginine in damaged blood vessels

A substance found naturally in the blood vessel lining is thought to contribute towards diseases associated with the circulation system, such as heart failure, high blood pressure, stroke and kidney disease.

4 Oct 2005

Researchers map genetic location that explains why certain blood pressure-lowering drugs aren't effective for some people

"The findings bring us a step closer to developing targeted therapies for patients with high blood pressure who might otherwise be started on medications that won't help," said lead author Sandosh Padmanabhan, Ph.D.

26 Sep 2005

Genetically engineered animals help in scientific research that may benefit children

The recent use of genetically modified mice and rats in combination with an animal model of obstructive nephropathy, a type of renal disease, has given researchers new insight in the development of kidney disease.

21 Sep 2005

Periodontal disease develops much earlier than dentists and other health professionals thought

Periodontal disease -- a progressive, eventually painful and disruptive condition in which bacteria attack gums and the hidden roots of teeth -- develops much earlier than dentists and other health professionals thought, a major new study concludes.

20 Sep 2005

Unrecognized hypertension is common among emergency room patients, especially African Americans

Half of the study participants with high blood pressure reported that they were not under medical care for the condition. Further, the majority of this group stated that they had never been told that they had high blood pressure.

1 Sep 2005

Decline in energy production by mitochondria appears to be a key problem leading to insulin resistance

A detectable decline in energy production by mitochondria - the organelles that are the cell's furnace for energy production - seems to be a key problem leading to insulin resistance, and thus to type 2 diabetes, according to studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers.

16 Aug 2005

Oral medications may control symptoms of Type II diabetes in children just as well as insulin injections

According to the medical records of 26 children diagnosed with the disease, oral medications reduced levels of a compound in the blood called hemoglobin A1C by an average of 2 percentage points.

15 Aug 2005

Study finds risk of death increases with peritoneal dialysis over hemodialysis

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that in people with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD), choosing peritoneal dialysis over hemodialysis increases their risk of dying by 50 percent.

2 Aug 2005

Defect in the mechanics of motors that build tiny cellular hairs is the basis of Bardet-Biedl syndrome

A defect in the mechanics of motors that build tiny cellular hairs is the basis of a serious genetic disorder, according to researchers at UC Davis and Simon Fraser University, Canada.

1 Aug 2005

Diagnosing diabetes early saves lives

Australian Medical Association (AMA) President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today that while 520,000 Australians have been diagnosed with diabetes, there are probably as many again who remain undiagnosed, exposing them to serious complications caused by the disease, including kidney disease, heart attacks and eye problems.

19 Jul 2005

Sirna Therapeutics granted new UK patents

Sirna Therapeutics has announced that the United Kingdom (UK) Patent Office has granted the Company two additional short interfering RNA (siRNA) target patents. The first patent covers any siRNA with one or more chemical modifications targeting Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF).

12 Jul 2005

Kidney disease associated with 'benign' prostate obstruction

Men who experience signs and symptoms of a prostate obstruction resulting from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are three times more likely than other men to develop chronic kidney disease, according to findings of a Mayo Clinic study published in this month's edition of Kidney International.

29 Jun 2005

If global efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS are to work long term, they must avoid suspicions of being unfair

Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialists who have spent more than two decades leading efforts to combat HIV and AIDS worldwide are warning that limited international relief supplies of antiretroviral therapies currently being distributed in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean will not get to those who can least afford to pay for them.

28 Jun 2005

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions. One variant increases risk and the other decreases risk with a similar effect in whites, African-Americans, diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.

14 Jun 2005

Fewer diabetics end up in hospital

According to new research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans with diabetes are less likely than they were a decade ago, to need hospitalization for serious complications such as kidney failure.