Kidney Failure News and Research

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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

High blood pressure among lower-status employees lingers well into retirement

Retirement from some occupations may not provide relief from the potentially devastating health effects of work-related hypertension, according to a new study from UC Davis.

9 Jun 2009

Control of blood sugars long-term reduces risk of heart disease in diabetics

People with diabetes who maintain intensive, low blood sugar levels are significantly less likely to suffer heart attacks and coronary heart disease, new research published today in The Lancet has shown.

22 May 2009

Aspirin and an anti-clotting drug ‘combo’ reduces risk of dialysis access failure

For the first time, a combination of aspirin and the anti-platelet drug dipyridamole has been shown to significantly reduce blockages and extend the useful life of new artery-vein access grafts used for hemodialysis, according to a study by the Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC).

21 May 2009

Trace elements unbalanced in dialysis patients

Abnormal levels of trace elements may explain dialysis morbidity. A systematic review published in the open access journal BMC Medicine has shown that, compared to healthy controls, dialysis patients have significantly different blood concentrations of trace elements.

18 May 2009

Cytomegalovirus may cause high blood pressure

A new study suggests for the first time that cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common viral infection affecting between 60 and 99 percent of adults worldwide, is a cause of high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

15 May 2009

Old diabetes drug Metformin teaches experts new tricks

Research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center reveals that the drug most commonly used in type 2 diabetics who don't need insulin works on a much more basic level than once thought, treating persistently elevated blood sugar - the hallmark of type 2 diabetes - by regulating the genes that control its production.

15 May 2009

Discovery of molecular defect involved in hearing loss

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have elucidated the action of a protein, harmonin, which is involved in the mechanics of hearing.

13 May 2009

Diuretic drug works best at reducing risk of heart failure in hypertension

New research supports the findings of a landmark drug comparison study published in 2002 in which a diuretic drug or "water pill" outperformed other medications for high blood pressure. A scientific team including investigators from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston reports the findings in the May 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

13 May 2009

In retinal disease, sight may depend on second sites

If two people have the same genetic disease, why would one person go blind in childhood but the other later in life or not at all? For a group of genetic diseases - so-called ciliary diseases that include Bardet-Biedl syndrome, Meckel-Gruber syndrome, and Joubert syndrome - the answer lies in one gene that is already linked to two of these diseases and also seems to increase the risk of progressive blindness in patients with other ciliary diseases. The findings are published online this week at Nature Genetics.

12 May 2009

Sinobiopharma announces Chinese approval of Perindopril

Sinobiopharma, Inc. has announced that it has received approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to manufacture and market its formulation of Perindopril, an anti-hypertension drug.

12 May 2009