A team of international researchers led by the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK have found two regions of the human genome linked to increased risk for the most common form of childhood kidney cancer, Wilms tumor. Scientists have suspected a genetic role in the rare disease because it can occur in siblings and … Continue reading Genetic Mutations Linked to Childhood Kidney Cancer, Wilms Tumor
Researchers Use Normothermic Perfusion to Increase Success of Kidney Transplants
Scientists from Kidney Research UK have discovered a way to increase the success of kidney transplants from deceased donors by reviving the kidneys prior to transplantation using normothermic perfusion. Blood flow is reintroduced to the kidney via a special machine, effectively reversing the damage caused by storing the kidney on ice. The scientists believe kidneys … Continue reading Researchers Use Normothermic Perfusion to Increase Success of Kidney Transplants
Stem Cell Treatment May Eliminate Need for Rejection Drugs in Transplantation
In an ongoing study, Northwestern Medicine and University of Louisville researchers have shown that it may be possible to eliminate the need for rejection drugs in kidney transplantation. The scientists paired living kidney donors with unrelated recipients with compatible blood type and a negative crossmatch. The kidney patients underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments to prepare their … Continue reading Stem Cell Treatment May Eliminate Need for Rejection Drugs in Transplantation
Stem Cells Could Boost Kidney Transplant Success
A team of researchers from University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Xiamen University in China have shown that a combination of mesenchymal stem cell therapy and immune suppressing calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) produces better short-term transplant outcomes than standard anti-rejection drugs and CNIs. Patients who received a transplant from a living relative were treated … Continue reading Stem Cells Could Boost Kidney Transplant Success
HIPK2 Regulator Protein Linked to Kidney Fibrosis
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers studying the genetic material of mice with HIV and renal fibrosis have discovered that a regulator protein known as HIPK2 plays a part in scarring of the kidney. Using algorithms and special software developed at Mount Sinai, the scientists were able to pinpoint HIPK2. Their studies showed that upregulation … Continue reading HIPK2 Regulator Protein Linked to Kidney Fibrosis
Valen Keefer Rocks Blue & Green for Donate Life Month
We’re so proud of our spokesperson, Valen Keefer, who has been all over California, sporting blue and green in honor of Donate Life month, sharing her story and spreading the word about organ donation. As one of Donate Life’s “12 Inspiring Women of the 20 million in 2012” campaign, Valen participated in a celebrity photo … Continue reading Valen Keefer Rocks Blue & Green for Donate Life Month