UKRO – University Kidney Research Organization
Together We Build a Kidney
Metabolic syndrome describes a set of symptoms that increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Those risk factors are: high blood pressure obesity, particularly extra weight around the waist insulin resistance low good cholesterol higher levels of triglycerides Patients are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome when they have 3 or more of … Continue reading Top News on Metabolic Syndrome for the Week of 8/15/11
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that, contrary to long-held beliefs, not all African American dialysis patients fare as well as their white counterparts. After studying 1.3 million ESRD patients, they found that young African Americans under 50 actually do much worse. The news comes as a surprise because earlier studies had never analyzed outcomes … Continue reading Young African Americans More Likely to Die on Dialysis, More Transplants Needed
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a drug called STF-31 that starves and kills some kidney cancer cells by cutting off their energy supply of glucose. STF-31 works by binding to a particular glucose transporter. Testing in mice inhibited glucose transport by about half and resulted in slowed tumor growth with limited … Continue reading Potential Kidney Cancer Therapy Starves Cancer Cells of Glucose
A team of nephrologists and researchers at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have discovered a factor in the blood that may be responsible for up to two-thirds of the cases of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis or FSGS. They found that an excess of serum soluble urokinase receptor (suPAR) activates a protein in the kidney … Continue reading Researchers Discover Cause of FSGS
Researchers at University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine have uncovered a new mechanism behind salt-sensitive hypertension. They found that a high-salt diet fed to salt-sensitive rats activates a gene called Rac1 in the kidneys; this leads to increased activity of the MR (Mineralocorticoid Receptor) protein and causes elevated blood pressure and kidney damage. Their … Continue reading Rac1 Gene Implicated in Salt-Induced High Blood Pressure
Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University Knight Cancer Institute have found that a gene called Src plays a role in helping some kidney cancers grow. The researchers are now looking at existing, approved drugs that may inhibit Src activity in cancer cells. In addition, they have developed a method of identifying patients that could … Continue reading Src Gene May Be Key to Helping Kidney Cancer Patients