Yale School of Medicine researchers have discovered that the PKD1 gene not only causes cysts to grow on the kidneys, but on the liver as well. Their studies of families with liver-only polycystic disease led them to explore the relationship between that liver condition and the most common form of Polycystic Kidney Disease, ADPKD. They … Continue reading PKD1 Gene Controls Development of Many Forms of Polycystic Disease
Researchers Identify Hormone Linked to Progressive Kidney Failure
Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have linked elevated levels of a hormone known as FGF23 to an increased risk of kidney failure and death in patients with early stages of chronic kidney disease. FGF23 regulates phosphorus, which is vital to bone health and cellular function, but potentially harmful to patients … Continue reading Researchers Identify Hormone Linked to Progressive Kidney Failure
mTOR Enzyme May be Target for Preventing Diabetic Kidney Disease
Researchers from the University of Freiberg in Germany have identified a metabolic enzyme called mTOR as a target for preventing diabetic kidney disease. They showed that while mTOR is important to early glomerular development, it becomes overactive in diabetics, causing damage to the filtering units of the kidney. Using a mouse model, the scientists inhibited … Continue reading mTOR Enzyme May be Target for Preventing Diabetic Kidney Disease
Aurora A May Contribute to Polycystic Kidney Disease
Researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia have found that Aurora A kinase, an enzyme linked to tumor growth in cancer, may contribute to polycystic kidney disease. They discovered that Aurora A is over-expressed in the cells lining PKD cysts. It likely contributes to the disease by disrupting the activity of polycystin-2, a protein … Continue reading Aurora A May Contribute to Polycystic Kidney Disease
High Fat, Low Carb Diet Improves Kidney Disease in Diabetic Mice
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have found that a special diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates, known as the ketogenic diet, can reverse kidney damage in mice with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The 8-week diet completely reversed albuminuria and partially reversed glomerular sclerosis. During the study, the research team discovered … Continue reading High Fat, Low Carb Diet Improves Kidney Disease in Diabetic Mice
Cancer Drug May Help Stop Recurring FSGS in Kidney Transplant Patients
Researchers at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, collaborating with a team of doctors and surgeons, have uncovered how the drug Rituximab, normally used to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, also works to prevent FSGS from recurring in children and young adults with kidney transplants. The drug appears to bind … Continue reading Cancer Drug May Help Stop Recurring FSGS in Kidney Transplant Patients