Blood Test Predicts Tissue Injury in Kidney Transplant Patients with FSGS


  An international research team from UC San Francisco, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and Necker Hospital in Paris has devised a blood test to identify FSGS patients at risk of repeat kidney injury following transplantation. In developing the blood panel, nicknamed FAST (FSGS Antibody Screen For Transplant), they also uncovered a potential drug … Continue reading Blood Test Predicts Tissue Injury in Kidney Transplant Patients with FSGS

Repurposed Drug as First Targeted Treatment for FSGS


Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital have identified abatacept (also known as Orencia), a drug for rheumatoid arthritis, as a potential treatment for FSGS. All five patients in the study showed signs of improvement after taking the drug. Four of the patients in danger of losing their transplanted kidneys were treated successfully and a fifth patient … Continue reading Repurposed Drug as First Targeted Treatment for FSGS

Faulty Gene Regulation Triggers the Kidney Disease FSGS


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. … Continue reading Faulty Gene Regulation Triggers the Kidney Disease FSGS

Regeneration of Podocyte Cells Offers Hope for Kidney Patients


Researchers at Stanford School of Medicine have discovered that the podocyte cells that make up the kidney filter membrane may be able to regenerate during normal kidney function. Scientists have long believed that these cells, which suffer damage in more than 90 percent of chronic kidney diseases, such as FSGS and diabetic nephropathy, could not … Continue reading Regeneration of Podocyte Cells Offers Hope for Kidney Patients

Scientists Discover Key to Podocyte Injury and Progressive Kidney Disease


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