Previously stripped-down rat kidney newly filled with endothelial cells

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital have succeeded in growing bioengineered kidneys in the lab and implanting them into rats. To create the functioning organs, they began by using a detergent solution to strip rat kidneys of their existing cells. This resulted in a collagen scaffold, where a variety of cell types were delicately introduced to the appropriate areas within the kidney structure, and allowed to grow in conditions simulating that of a living body. The mature kidneys were then transplanted into rats, where they began producing urine right after implantation. Though they did not perform as well as healthy kidneys, the researchers believe that one day, this technique could be used to regenerate human kidneys, using a patient’s own cells and avoiding the need for harmful immunosuppressant drugs.

Photo credit: Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine

Sources:

Implantable, Bioengineered Rat Kidney: Transplanted Organ Produces Urine, but Further Refinement is Needed, ScienceDaily, April 14, 2013

Video of Lab-Grown Functional Kidney Amazes, Renal Business Today, Kasia Michalik, April 17, 2013

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In a study of lab results from 810,000 Canadian men and women, researchers from University of Calgary have found that higher levels of protein in the urine are associated with reduced life expectancy. The scientists determined that men aged 40 without proteinuria would outlive those with heavy proteinuria by 15.2 years and those with mild proteinuria by 8.2 years. 40-year-old women without proteinuria were projected to outlive those with heavy proteinuria, by 17.4 years and those with mild proteinuria by 10.5 years. The individuals in the study did not have kidney failure, but they may have had kidney disease risk factors—diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney disease—that warranted proteinuria testing.

Based on the results, medical experts from the NKF suggest that proteinuria screening for those at risk of kidney disease could result in timely interventions and longer lives for these patients.

Sources:

Protein in the Urine Linked to Life Expectancy, Medical News Today, April 3, 2013

Proteinuria and Life Expectancy, AJKD, April 2013

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A new study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center researchers reveals that smoking and secondhand smoke could harm kidney function in adolescents. The scientists measured blood levels of creatinine, a waste product in the body, and cotinine, a chemical found in tobacco, in a group of 7,516 American children, aged 12 to 17. They used creatinine levels to measure estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a reflection of how well the kidneys are doing their job. The eGFR measurements showed that kidney function decreased as cotinine in the blood increased. While more studies need to be done, the link between smoke exposure and impaired kidney function in teens  is compelling, especially given previous studies tying excessive smoking in adulthood to an increased risk of CKD.

Sources:

Smoking May Negatively Impact Kidney Function Among Adolescents, ScienceDaily, April 8, 2013

Can Secondhand Smoke Hurt Kids’ Kidneys? DailyRx, April 7, 2013

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In a retrospective study, researchers in the UK have made a direct link between being overweight in early adulthood and the risk of developing chronic kidney disease later in life. Tracking body mass index and other data from subjects at different stages in their lives, they found that individuals who were overweight at ages 26 or 36 were twice as likely to develop chronic kidney disease by ages 60 to 64, compared with those who had never been overweight and those who became overweight at age 60 or later. They also found that those with apple-shaped bodies at ages 43 and 53 were at risk of having CKD by age 60 to 64.

While the incidence of hypertension and diabetes explained some of the findings, there remained a strong correlation between excess weight and CKD. The researchers do not know if the link is due to the age that a person becomes overweight or to the length of time that person is overweight. Nevertheless, they conclude that avoiding putting on extra weight early in life could prevent up to 36% of the cases of CKD in the U.S. population.

Source:

Overweight Starting in Early Adulthood Linked with Kidney Disease in Older Age, ScienceDaily, April 4, 2013

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Researchers from the Clinical Institute of Pathology at MediUni Vienna have discovered a new cause for the kidney disease, FSGS. About half of FSGS cases can be explained by genetic causes or a circulatory factor in the blood, but until now, scientists have been unable to uncover the cause for the remaining 50% of cases. The MediUni Vienna researchers, in collaboration with an international team, have traced the kidney damage that occurs in FSGS to over-expression of a micro-RNA, miR-193a, in glomerular cells. This over-expression turns off gene regulation in the cells, leading to damage of the kidney filtration barrier.

The discovery uncovers a valuable new target for treating FSGS. In future studies, the scientists hope to discover the reasons behind the over-expression of miR-193a and ways they might prevent it.

Source:

Faulty Gene Regulation Triggers the Kidney Disease FSGS, Medical Xpress, March 20, 2013

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Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO) Ventury County West Valley Chapter is hosting a free seminar open to all transplant recipients/candidates, dialysis patients waiting for a transplant, medical professionals and family members on Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m at the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center located at 23400 Park Sorrento in Calabasas, CA 91302. A continental breakfast will be served.

Anjay Rastogi, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology at the David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA will present “Blood Pressure: What You Can Do to Improve Outcomes.” About 1 in 5 U.S. adults with high blood pressure don’t know that they have it. Less than half of the people with high blood pressure (46%) have their condition under control. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for kidney disease.

Reservations are required and seating is limited to 65 attendees. If you would like to attend the seminar, please reserve your spot by contacting TRIO President, Ron Taubman at (818) 309-7919 or email him at taubmanappr@dslextreme.com.

Download the pdf file for this event.

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Dr. Vito Campese, Rep Adam Schiff, Alicia McDonough, Ph.D. and UKRO President, Ken Kleinberg

Yesterday UKRO President, Ken Kleinberg, Vito Campese, M.D., Chief of Nephrology of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and kidney researcher Alicia McDonough, Ph.D., met with Representative Adam Schiff to ask for his help in preventing sequestration cuts that would severely limit NIH funding for research. Speaking on behalf of UKRO and the USC/UKRO Kidney Research Center,  Dr. Campese stressed that research is essential to new medical advances that will drive down the skyrocketing cost of healthcare. He pointed out the high cost of the burgeoning epidemic of kidney diseases and hypertension.  Kidney disease consumes nearly 7% of Medicare costs and 27.6% of Medicare expenditures. Approximately 26 million Americans have kidney disease and that number is expected to increase. Today there are more than 95,000 people in need of a kidney transplant and the average wait for a kidney is 8 years. There simply aren’t enough kidneys for everyone. Research provides the best hope for life-saving medical advances for these patients. Congressman Schiff brought up the fact that even if a patient is lucky enough to receive a transplant, Medicare funding for anti-rejection drugs runs out three years after transplant. Such a patient could end up back on dialysis—a tragedy not only in human, but economic terms; caring for a dialysis patient is far more expensive than caring for a transplant patient.

Ken Kleinberg shared the story of his FSGS diagnosis, subsequent kidney failure and years spent on dialysis. He acknowledged that he is alive and healthy today because of improved treatments, procedures and medications derived from decades of medical research, but even so, there is still so much more scientists need to learn about diseases like FSGS. Without NIH funding for research, important scientific work will cease.

Dr. McDonough spoke on behalf of the American Society of Nephrology, which represents 14,000 physicians, scientists and other healthcare professionals dedicated to curing kidney disease. Even currently, before the potential cuts, funding has dried up at the NIDDK for both small start-up grants and big program grants that usually help new junior investigators set up their labs. Only 10% of the individual research grant applications are funded overall, so it is very difficult for new investigators in the pipeline to compete. Some researchers have decided to go to Singapore to work.

Representative Schiff was responsive, commenting that he agrees with President Obama on the importance of funding research to improve the economy and that not doing so is, “eating our seed corn.” Everyone agreed that support for research and the importance of innovation, production, and progress has always been a part of the American ethos and it must be maintained. NIH funding must be protected. It generates jobs, stimulates the economy and ultimately helps save American lives.

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A retrospective study conducted by University of Barcelona researchers suggests that on-line hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) cuts mortality risk for kidney patients by 30%, compared to conventional hemodialysis. With OL-HDF, more water and toxins are removed from the blood. Though two previous randomized trials had found no benefit with OL-HDF, the scientists noted that the earlier studies involved “shorter dialysis times and lower average blood flow rates”. The current study showed that OL-HDF was associated with lower risk of hospital admissions and lower risk of death from stroke, infections, and cardiovascular complications.

Source:

New Dialysis Method Cuts Mortality Risk, MedPage Today, February 16, 2013

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Hemodialysis patients are at high risk for sudden cardiac death, and they are at the highest risk during the first year of treatment. Given those grim facts, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine set out to discover whether heart-protective Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil, walnuts and other foods, could be beneficial for dialysis patients.

Allon N. Friedman, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology at IU said, “We found that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood of patients who were just starting hemodialysis were very strongly associated with a lower risk of sudden cardiac death over the first year of their treatment.”

More studies are needed, but the finding paves the way for strategies to prevent sudden cardiac death in dialysis patients. The research could also lead to new dietary recommendations for this patient population.

Source:

Science Daily, Fish Oil May Protect Dialysis Patients from Sudden Cardiac Death, February 6, 2013

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Researchers from Australia’s Monash University have made an important discovery about the role of leukocytes, or white blood cells, in kidney inflammation. Leukocytes are immune system cells found throughout the body, where they defend against infectious disease; a high leukocyte count can be a marker of inflammation and disease. Prior to this study, the medical and scientific community believed that leukocytes were only present in diseased kidneys. Using the latest microscopic technology, the Monash researchers found that leukocytes circulate in both healthy and impaired kidneys. According to lead researcher Associate Professor Michael Hickey, when disease is present, leukocytes “…linger in the kidney during the course of their normal journey, become agitated and cause inflammation and kidney damage.”

Armed with this new information about the disease process, scientists are one step closer to identifying specific drug targets that could help patients suffering from glomerulonephritis and other inflammatory kidney maladies.

Source:

Kidney Failure Under the Microscope, Monash University, December 17, 2012

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