Nephrology News and Research

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Nephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.

Obesity and weight gain are associated with increased risk for developing kidney stones

Kidney stones are a major cause of illness, according to background information in the article. The lifetime prevalence of kidney stones is approximately 10 percent in men and 5 percent in women, and more than $2 billion is spent on treatment each year.

26 Jan 2005

Genzyme files Glucocerebrosidase patent infringement

Genzyme announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Tel Aviv alleging that Transkaryotic Therapies Inc. has infringed Genzyme's Israeli patent No. 100,715, which covers certain cell culture processes involved in the manufacture of glucocerebrosidase.

25 Jan 2005

Vaginal hysterectomies better than abdominal hysterectomies

A review of recent studies concludes that surgeons should perform vaginal rather than abdominal hysterectomies whenever possible in order to cut down on complications and the length of hospital stays.

24 Jan 2005

High blood pressure risk in African-Americans linked to genetics

National health records have shown that African-Americans are more prone to high blood pressure than Caucasians, but pinning down the roots of that difference has proven elusive. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have narrowed down the search for genes that contribute to this difference in disease risk.

24 Jan 2005

1 billion people with high blood pressure by 2025

The proportion of the world’s adult population with high blood pressure is predicted to increase from a quarter to a third by 2025, totalling over one billion, conclude authors of a study published in this week’s issue of The LANCET.

13 Jan 2005

Evaluation of BAY 43-9006 (Sorafenib) for pancreatic cancer

Oncologists from USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center are running tests on a new pancreatic cancer drug that targets the cancer from two directions.

13 Jan 2005

Euro funding for diabetes and exercise research

Researchers at The University of Nottingham are among a network of European scientists who have been awarded €12.7 million (around £8.7 million) for a study into the relationship between lack of exercise and the development of diabetes — and the health benefits of regular exercise in its prevention and cure.

12 Jan 2005

Strong association between high levels of hyaluronic acid and severe osteoarthritis

A chronic degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of pain and disability among older Americans. OA of the knee affects up to 6 percent of the older population, while OA of the hip affects about another 3 percent. While treatments vary, there is hope that early intervention – before joint destruction can be clearly seen and measured on an X-ray image-will improve outcomes.

7 Jan 2005

Potential cure for lymphoma in HIV patients

Stem cell transplants have become the standard of care for patients with relapsed lymphoma, but not for patients who suffer from both this disease and HIV.

7 Jan 2005

New guidelines for treating diabetes

Every year, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) issues Clinical Practice Recommendations, a series of updated recommendations to help health care providers treat people with diabetes using the most current research available.

7 Jan 2005

Processes shed light on how DNA recombination mechanisms are related

Peter W. Atkinson, a University of California, Riverside professor of entomology and member of the university’s Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, is part of a team that has linked the movement of small pieces of DNA, known as transposable elements, to a process called V(D)J recombination that produces the genetic diversity responsible for the production of antibodies.

6 Jan 2005

New hope for millions of patients suffering from liver damage (cirrhosis)

Millions of patients suffering from liver damage (cirrhosis) and failure may benefit from research by the Universities of Edinburgh and Southampton which may lead to new life-saving treatments. There is currently no cure for liver cirrhosis and a patient's only hope of survival is to receive a liver transplant.

5 Jan 2005

Angioplasty may replace bypass for more patients who are also receiving a new heart valve

The death rate during combination surgery to bypass clogged coronary arteries and simultaneously replace a heart valve in very sick patients can be as high as one in five, but a review of records of very sick patients who underwent balloon angioplasty, followed by heart valve replacement surgery, found only one death among 26 patients.

4 Jan 2005

Calcium intake contributing factor in formation of kidney stones

Individuals with either calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate kidney stones should not take extra calcium on their own as suggested by previous research, but should check with their doctors to determine the dietary guidelines that work best for them, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found.

4 Jan 2005

Higher risk of kidney infection among women with a history of incontinence and diabetes

Researchers at Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative and the University of Washington (UW) report that some of the same factors that put women at risk for simple, lower urinary tract infections (UTIs) - as well as some unexpected factors - also make them susceptible to more serious kidney infections.

4 Jan 2005

For uncomplicated colds antibiotics are not necessary

If a runny nose and congested chest have you thinking of antibiotics, think again.

3 Jan 2005

Does cancer run in families?

If you have a relative with cancer, probably one of the most pressing questions is what your chances are of getting it yourself. In a paper published in PloS Medicine, the premier medical journal freely available online, Laufey Amundadottir and colleagues from deCODE genetics (a company that is using genetics to develop new drug treatments) and Iceland’s National-University Hospital go some way toward answering that question.

28 Dec 2004

Jumping genes help explain immune system's remarkable ability

A team led by Johns Hopkins scientists has found the first clear evidence that the process behind the human immune system's remarkable ability to recognize and respond to a million different proteins might have originated from a family of genes whose only apparent function is to jump around in genetic material.

22 Dec 2004

Out-of-office blood pressure readings help predict CVD risk

Blood pressure readings taken at home with approved devices can be a useful addition to blood pressure management, and may even predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk better than readings from the doctor’s office alone, according to a scientific statement issued today by the American Heart Association.

21 Dec 2004

Discovery of new compound known as SP-4-84 could lead to improved chemotherapy treatments

The discovery of a new compound by Michigan State University researchers could lead to improved chemotherapy treatments for different types of cancers – potentially with fewer side effects.

20 Dec 2004