Researchers at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have discovered an important molecular mechanism behind worsening kidney disease. In a disease such as FSGS, for example, the kidney filter membrane (also known as the slit diaphragm) is damaged, allowing proteins to leak into the urine. The initial damage causes further … Continue reading Scientists Discover Key to Podocyte Injury and Progressive Kidney Disease
UKRO Announces 2011-2012 Grant Extension for Janos Peti-Peterdi
UKRO is pleased to announce a 2011-2012 extension of Dr. Janos Peti-Peterdi’s previous special project research grant. Dr. Peti-Peterdi, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics and Medicine at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the USC Keck School of Medicine, has been awarded $60,000 to continue translational studies on urinary succinate as a novel mechanism and biomarker … Continue reading UKRO Announces 2011-2012 Grant Extension for Janos Peti-Peterdi
Young African Americans More Likely to Die on Dialysis, More Transplants Needed
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
Potential Kidney Cancer Therapy Starves Cancer Cells of Glucose
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
Researchers Discover Cause of FSGS
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
Rac1 Gene Implicated in Salt-Induced High Blood Pressure
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