Feature Channels: Kidney Disease

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An analysis of Geisinger's electronic health records has revealed chronic kidney disease to be the leading risk factor for hospitalization from COVID-19.

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Removing race from clinical tools that calculate kidney function could have both advantages and disadvantages for Black patients. Newly diagnosed patients and those whose kidney disease is reclassified as more severe would have greater access to kidney specialists, faster access to the kidney-transplant waitlist. On the flipside, patients reclassified as having more severe kidney disease may become ineligible for heart, diabetes, pain control and cancer medications or may be given lower doses for these drugs. A new kidney function score would also increase the number of Black individuals ineligible to donate a kidney, potentially exacerbating organ shortages for Black people. Researchers caution that clinicians and policy makers must anticipate both the benefits and downsides of changes to the current formula to ensure that Black patients are not disadvantaged, and health disparities are not exacerbated. Scientists say the analysis should motivate researchers and cl

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• A recent analysis indicates that Accountable Care Organizations may reduce the cost of medical care for patients undergoing dialysis. • The cost savings were seen only for patients who regularly received care from primary care physicians.

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• The diabetes drug canagliflozin slowed kidney function decline in patients with diabetes and advanced chronic kidney disease. • The drug also reduced the risk of developing kidney failure and cardiovascular problems in these patients.

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Afro-Caribbean people with end stage kidney disease (ESKD) are more likely to be hospitalised with COVID-19 than other ethnicities, a study has found.

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• A recent analysis found limited research evaluating depression screening tools in patients with kidney failure. • Many studies were small in size and had other shortcomings.

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• Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common during hospitalization with COVID-19 in the U.S. veterans, and it’s associated with a higher risk of death. This risk is especially high for Black veterans. • Nearly half of the veterans with AKI in this analysis did not fully recover their kidney function by the time of hospital discharge.

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A long-held belief that the distal convoluted tubule (DCT) in the kidney is bigger in women than men has been disproven, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology.

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Los pacientes que tienen riñones poliquísticos grandes y necesitan un trasplante de riñón pueden someterse simultáneamente y de forma segura a la extirpación laparoscópica de los riñones enfermos y al trasplante.

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A new study shows that robotic-assisted kidney transplant and weight loss surgery can be performed safely.

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New research shows that adults with lupus who take hydroxychloroquine do not have any differences in their corrected QT (QTc) intervals even if they have chronic kidney disease. The study was presented at ACR Convergence, the American College Rheumatology’s annual meeting.

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Researchers have created an experimental device that, instead of inhibiting inflammatory proteins in COVID-19 patients, changes the phenotype of circulating white blood cells, helping wean two patients off ECMO.

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DALLAS – Nov. 2, 2020 – An autoimmune side effect of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) drugs could signal improved control of kidney cancer, according to a new study by researchers in UT Southwestern’s Kidney Cancer Program (KCP).

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A husband and wife, a mother and son, two cousins, two sisters, and a boss and her direct report were strangers from different cities and diverse backgrounds. Now, after a successful, and rare, 5-way kidney swap at Houston Methodist, they are instant family.

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• Social determinants of health are associated with patient-reported outcomes in adults who are eligible to undergo kidney transplantation evaluations. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• In an analysis of information on patients with kidney failure, Black patients are less likely than white patients to be placed on transplant waiting lists. • For patients on such lists, Blacks are less likely to receive transplants than whites. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• A new model that incorporates a type of artificial intelligence can accurately predict which individuals with chronic kidney disease face a high risk of developing atrial fibrillation. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• Adults with glomerular diseases have a 2.5-times higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease than individuals in the general population. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• In a recent study, a new algorithm achieved good performance for predicting which hospitalized patients will develop acute kidney injury requiring dialysis. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• A new study indicates that Blacks and Hispanics have experienced higher rates of kidney failure compared with whites due to more rapid kidney function decline. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• New research examines the risk of acute kidney injury in people with sickle cell trait or disease, as well as the effect of acute kidney injury on kidney function decline in these individuals. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• In individuals with chronic kidney disease who received online peer mentoring, improved patient activation correlated with improvements in various aspects of quality of life. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• In a recent study, a new algorithm outperformed the standard method for predicting which hospitalized patients will develop acute kidney injury. • Results from the study will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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What about the kidneys make them a hotspot for COVID-19’s cytokine storm? A research team says it’s the presence of a protein found on specialized renal transport cells.

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Patients with diabetic kidney disease can potentially be treated with a new investigational medication that may slow the progress of their illness without harmful side effects to their hearts, according to the results of a global clinical trial announced Friday.

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The results of numerous high-impact clinical trials that could affect kidney-related medical care will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

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• A new patient-reported outcome measure assesses fatigue in patients receiving dialysis. The tool gauges tiredness, energy, and the impact of fatigue on life participation.

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Chronically ill children with kidney disease may spend more time in the hospital, incur larger health care costs and have a higher risk of death compared to pediatric patients hospitalized for other chronic conditions, a new study suggests.

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Taking into account two common kidney disease tests may greatly enhance doctors’ abilities to estimate patients’ cardiovascular disease risks.

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Media invited to live Q&A on Oct 7th, 2pm EDT

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The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a $3.86 million grant to Beaumont researchers to develop a simple screening tool to speed diagnosis leading to new treatments for a chronic bladder condition, interstitial cystitis. Study participants are currently being recruited online in each of the 50 states with the support of a social media campaign lead by the Interstitial Cystitis Association. The effort aims to engage 3,000 IC patients and 1,000 non-IC individuals. To learn more, visit ICStudy.org

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Surgeons at UI Health — the University of Illinois Chicago’s clinical and academic health enterprise — have performed the world’s first robotic-assisted double-kidney removal followed immediately by a living-donor kidney transplant in a patient with severe polycystic kidney disease.

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Patients with large polycystic kidneys in need of a kidney transplant can have their diseased kidneys safely removed laparoscopically at the same time as their transplant surgery. That is the finding of a Mayo Clinic study recently published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

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• Certain indicators may be used to monitor and improve the performance of transplant centers in how efficiently they evaluate individuals interested in becoming living kidney donors.

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A new observational study finds patients in the hospital for COVID-19 have high levels of soluble urokinase receptor (suPAR), an immune-derived pathogenic protein that is strongly predictive of kidney injury.

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• Over the last decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs implemented payment changes to reduce spending on community dialysis treatments and to improve access to care for Veterans with kidney failure. • The changes led to reduced costs for dialysis sessions and less variation in payments for dialysis. • The changes led to improved access to dialysis care without change in the quality of that care.

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In an analysis of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, kidney damage associated with the infectious disease was linked with a higher risk of dying during hospitalization.

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According to Jochen Reiser, MD, PhD, the Ralph C Brown MD professor and chairperson of Rush’s Department of Internal Medicine, patients with COVID-19 experience elevated levels of soluble urokinase receptor (suPAR), an immune-derived pathogenic protein that is strongly predictive of kidney injury.

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An immunotherapy agent combined with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor drug significantly improved progression-free survival and reduced the risk of death compared to a single agent treatment in advanced kidney cancer patients, according to first results of a phase 3 clinical trial. The pivotal study could lead to a new treatment option for patients with metastatic kidney cancer.

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Rutgers New Jersey Medical School will be a clinical test site for a study assessing the long term risk of chronic kidney disease in patients who recover from COVID-19.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Tuesday.

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Newly published research has reversed our understanding of an aspect of kidney tumor growth. Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah discovered that two key proteins have opposite roles than what was previously believed.

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If you have moderate-to-high risk of kidney failure as a young adult, you may be at risk for worse cognitive function in middle age, according to a study published in the September 2, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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• A recent analysis examines data from over the past 25 years concerning couples’ use of genetic testing for kidney diseases in embryos from in vitro fertilization. • The analysis provides the first report on the types of genetic kidney diseases tested in this way, how often these tests result in live births of unaffected children, and what reasons couples cite for not undergoing testing.