Sunday, March 30, 2014

Tolvaptan, 'Samsca' Approved in Japan for PKD

PKD Treatment

From Wall Street Journal. by ERIC PFANNER

For Otsuka Drug, U.S. Says No and Japan Says Yes

Japanese pharmaceutical regulators have approved a treatment for a rare kidney disease, only a few months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the use of the drug for the same purpose.

The affliction, called autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, causes a painful swelling of the kidneys, resulting in renal failure in one-half of those afflicted by the age of 70, according to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., which developed the drug, called Samsca. ADPKD, a genetic disease, has been diagnosed in 30,000 people in Japan, 120,000 in the United States and 200,000 in Europe, according to the company.

Otsuka, which is based in Tokushima, Japan, says Samsca is the first drug that has been shown to slow the progression of the disease. The company said clinical trials in 15 countries, involving more than 1,400 patients, demonstrated that the treatment significantly delayed the development of cysts that cause the kidneys to swell.

While the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved the drug for the treatment of ADPKD this week, the FDA said last year that the studies were inconclusive. The FDA also raised concerns about possible buildup of harmful enzymes in the liver, stemming from treatment with Samsca. Otsuka said it would put in place a system to monitor this effect.

Despite the FDA’s rejection of the drug to treat the kidney disease, Samsca is already sold in a number of countries, including the U.S., to treat a symptom of heart failure. In this situation, there is less risk of side effects in the liver because the drug is only prescribed for a short term, the company said.



Kidney News

From RenalAndUrologyNews.com, by Jody A. Charnow


Higher protein intake in middle age is associated with greater declines in kidney function over time, researchers reported online ahead of print in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation.

Massimo Cirillo, MD, of the University of Salerno in Salerno, Italy, and colleagues collected data on overnight urinary urea, serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and other variables in 1,522 men and women aged 45-64 years. Subjects were participants in the Gubbio study, an ongoing population-based investigation in Gubbio, Italy. The investigators re-assessed serum creatinine, eGFR, and other variables in 1,144 of 1,425 survivors after 12 years of follow-up.

At baseline, the study population had a mean eGFR of 84 mL/min/1.73 m2 as calculated using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation and protein intake of 1.34 g/day per kilogram of ideal weight as assessed by measurements of overnight urine excretion of urea nitrogen.

Cross-sectional analyses showed that each 1 g/day increment in protein intake was associated with a 4.7 mL/min/1.73 m2 increment in eGFR. Longitudinal results demonstrated that, after 12 years of follow-up, study subjects had experienced a mean 11.6 mL/min/1.73 m2 decline in eGFR. Each 1 g/day increment in protein intake was associated with a 4.1 mL/min/1.73 m2 decline in eGFR and a 78% increased likelihood of having an eGFR below 60 mL/min/1.73 m2.

“The study reports the first evidence that, in a sample of the middle-age general population, higher protein intake is associated cross-sectionally with higher eGFR and longitudinally with greater eGFR decline over time,” the investigators staged. “Findings were similar for both sexes, independent of several variables, and consistent in subgroup analyses.”

The study's findings agree with clinical studies demonstrating short-term GFR stimulation by protein intake and unfavorable effects of high protein diet in CKD, Dr. Cirillo's team said. [Read more]



From TechPageOne.Dell.com, By Barbara Bermudez


About 430,000 Americans receive dialysis, a treatment that takes hours at a time.

A new wearable artificial kidney may soon allow patients with end-stage kidney failure to avoid hooking up to a bulky dialysis machine, where patients can be tethered for hours a day.

The battery-operated device is light enough to be worn on a tool belt around the waist, allowing patients to go about their lives working, sleeping and taking showers with it on.

Known as a WAK, the 10-pound device is being tested in Seattle at the Kidney Research Institute at the University of Washington, in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration.

Researchers will be looking not only at the technical operations of the device — its safety and effectiveness — but how it may improve the quality of life of dialysis patients. Nationwide, 430,000 Americans receive dialysis, working around a regimented schedule of being hooked up to a machine that is often located in hospitals or dialysis centers.

“Quality of life issues will be embedded in the trial design,” said Dr. Jonathan Himmelfarb, director of the institute. “We’ll probably be asking patients, ‘Can you move with ease? How do you feel? How does the device or the treatment affect your daily life? Can you go to work with it on, or go out with your family and friends?’ We will be looking at key health outcomes as well as health economics.”

Taxing on patients’ time

An estimated 31 million Americans, about 10 percent of the population, have chronic kidney disease. It is the eighth leading cause of death, and every day 14 people die waiting for a kidney.

Dialysis prolongs life by keeping the body in balance. It removes waste, salt and extra water to prevent them from building up in the body. It maintains a safe level of chemicals in the blood such as potassium, sodium and bicarbonate while also helping to control blood pressure. Patients typically undergo dialysis about four hours a day, three times a week. But research has shown that patients who have dialysis daily fare better than those who do it three times a week.

“The problem is there is not enough money to do daily dialysis, not enough machines and nurses, and patients hate to be on dialysis,” said Victor Gura, an associate clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, who developed and patented the WAK. “Treatment of dialysis patients is one of the most expensive items on the Medicare budget.”

Costly treatment

Approximately $16 million is spent annually on dialysis treatment in the United States, with about 80 percent of those costs paid for by Medicare, Medicaid or other government programs.

Today’s dialysis machines are bulky, power-hungry and rival the size of washing machines. If successful, the WAK would be the equivalent to today’s electronic tablets or laptops, revolutionized from the first massive computers that stood as tall as refrigerators.

Gura hopes to make the device commercially available at a cost similar to the expense incurred for conventional dialysis and supplies. [Read more]



Kidney Donors

From Troy Record, Troy, NY, by Lauren Klose

Kidney, organ donors in short supply

With March being National Kidney Month, the Northeast Kidney Foundation is making sure people are aware of the signs of kidney disease and how they can help save lives. As part of their mission to improve the quality of life of those affected by kidney disease through early identification, intervention, prevention and support services, the foundation educates the community at health fairs, schools and worksites.

Kidney disease occurs when the organs become damaged, causing an excess buildup of waste products and fluids. Taking good care of your body and knowing the risk factors of kidney disease are critical to staying healthy.

“Know your risk factors and getting your kidneys checked is really important,” said Carol LaFleur, executive director of the foundation, which began in 1974 by Edwin and Rhoda Sperber, after Edwin donated a kidney to their daughter.

Risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol. The five stages of kidney disease can be based off of a person’s glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which is the best way to determine kidney function. A normal GFR is 90 or above, however a person with a normal GFR can still develop kidney disease due to risk factors. The possibility is even higher for African Americans and the older the person.

Andrea Hanny, a Schenectady resident diagnosed at stage three almost 20 years ago, took precautions to keep herself healthy. It wasn’t until late 2008 that her kidney function dropped below 10 percent. “This was an extremely stressful time for me because I realized that I was no longer in control of what was happening to my body,” said Hanny.

Hanny received a new kidney in November 2011, keeping it healthy by visiting a transplant surgeon every three months, taking the required medication and avoiding foods that could affect the medications. “All I am certain of is that someone continues to live on in my body and we have a symbiotic relationship,” said Hanny, who remains unsure of the exact identity of the deceased donor.

In an effort to increase organ donation, the foundation works with the Center for Donation & Transplant and the New York Alliance for Donation, and will soon partner with Kidney Connection.

The human body has eight transplantable organs: the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, intestine and pancreas. On average, 18 people die daily in the United States waiting for an organ, said Becky Daniels, Hospital & Community Services specialist for the Center for Donation & Transplant.

“There are almost 11,000 people on the waiting list for organ transplants in New York state alone and almost 9,000 of them are waiting for kidneys,” said Tricia Shapiro, a Troy native and current Guilderland resident. Shapiro’s husband, Ed Shapiro, received a kidney transplant in 1988 after being diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease.

When the kidney began to fail in 2007, Tricia spoke with a transplant doctor about donating a new kidney to Ed. Although above the normal age considered for donation, Tricia was healthy. On May 19, 2008, at age 65, she became one of the oldest living kidney donors at AMC. He died in 2011, two months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “I would do it again in a heartbeat,” said Tricia “I often tell people that donating that kidney to him was the best thing I had ever done for myself.”

For Sherril and Peter Bindelglass, who made the decision to donate the organs of Amy Bindelglass, their 2-year-old daughter who died in a car accident in Jan. 2000; the choice was obvious, they say.

Amy was bright for her age, she knew the entire alphabet and could even write a few words, said Sherril. Amy adored her older brother, Adam Bindelglass, who sustained serious injuries from the accident. Adam, now a freshman at Northeastern University, is an active supporter of organ donation.

“Organ donation saves many lives and gives others a more enjoyable life,” said Adam. “Each person who donates their organs can have an effect on multiple people.” Sherril, Peter and Adam are all registered organ donors, while the two youngest members of their family, Andy and Abby Bindelglass, await their 18th birthday to join the registry.

“Only about 22 percent of New Yorkers are registered to be organ donors,” said Daniels. While you can register to be an organ donor at your local DMV, enrollment can also be done online by visiting www.donatelifecdt.com or mailing forms to the New York State Department of Health, said Daniels.



From WetherbyNews, Wetherby, Yorkshire, England

CAMPAIGN: Plea for more organ donors

Railwayman Dennis Roberts was left fighting for his life after being diagnosed with a crippling genetic disease.

Until, that is, his wife Jacqueline proved a match and gave him a kidney transplant.

“When I woke up after my operation, it was as if I had jump leads attached,” said the Knaresborough signalman, who lives in Ripon.

“I felt revitalised. I thought at first it was the morphine. But I haven’t come down yet.”

Dennis, now 61, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at the age of 33. It meant that cysts were growing on his kidneys, causing them slowly to fail.

Checking his family medical history, it came as a sharp shock to realise the condition was genetic - and almost everyone in his family was affected.

His brother died of the illness. Another is on dialysis as he waits on the transplant list. His mother and grandmother both suffered.

And he has passed it on to his two sons, aged 24 and 30.

“It’s the most common hereditary disease there is,” he said. “But it doesn’t usually show itself until you’re in your 50s.”

Dennis was given support and advice from the polycystic kidney charity and referred to consultants at York Teaching Hospital, who said they would carry on as normal until his kidney function dropped to 12 per cent. Which it did in 2009.

“’Was there anybody in my family that could give me a kidney?’”, he said. “There was only Jacqueline left. She said yes, straight away.

“And the tests on her came back amazing. We were a match - a good match.”

The couple were booked in for surgery at St James’ hospital in Leeds just weeks later.

“It was strange really, knowing we would both be going in together,” said Jacqueline, 55.

“We decided to catch the 36 bus to Leeds. We knew we weren’t going to be able to drive home, so we tried to keep it normal.

“It was actually quite fun. We were sat there giggling at the thought of what everyone else on the bus would say if they knew what we were doing.”

The operation was on a Friday morning in October, 2009.

“Jacqueline went down first,” said Dennis. “Then, they said, they would have ‘a spot of lunch’ before I went down to the transplant room as well.

“They didn’t remove the old kidneys, so I ended up with three and Jacqueline had one.”

The couple even have nicknames for their kidneys. [Read more]



From Cape Brenton Post, Nova Scotia, Canada, by Sharon Montgomery-Dupe

'Hey, you're the kidney guy'

Lots of people get nicknames and it looks like Ken Wilkie’s is going to stick.

Wilkie, 48, who caught attention across the country after advertising for a kidney on Kijiji back in November, is still being recognized months later.

"It's insane — people still come up to me all the time and say, 'Hey, you’re the kidney guy,'" he said laughing.

Wilkie is hoping for life-changing news soon and already has a three-day celebration planned.

“I’ve been planning a kayak trip from one end of the Bras d’Or Lake to the other, so I’ll be heading out when I finish,” he said.

“I can’t wait, I spent 30 some years dreading the day I’d have to start dialysis; now I’m looking forward to the day they tell me I won’t have to anymore.”

Wilkie said several people are in various stages of testing as possible kidney donors for him, and he expects word in six to eight weeks.

"Right now they're telling me a girl from Bay St. Lawrence I was in school with up to Grade 3 is probably going to be my best match."

Wilkie was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease — a genetic condition —at age 15. [Read more]



 Kidney Dialysis

From MarketWatch.com, Press Release

Rockwell Medical Submits New Drug Application for Triferic(TM) for the Treatment of Iron Replacement in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients on Hemodialysis

Rockwell Medical, Inc. RMTI -0.41% , a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company targeting end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) with innovative products and services for the treatment of iron replacement, secondary hyperparathyroidism and hemodialysis, today announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for the marketing and sale of Triferic (soluble ferric pyrophosphate citrate), the Company's late-stage investigational iron-replacement drug for treating iron deficiency in chronic kidney disease patients receiving hemodialysis. The NDA submission is based primarily on the datasets derived from the Triferic Phase 3 registration study program, and includes efficacy and safety data from additional studies...

About Triferic

Triferic is a unique iron compound that is delivered to the hemodialysis patient via dialysate, replacing the 5-7 mg of iron that is lost during every dialysis treatment. Triferic is introduced into the sodium bicarbonate concentrate on-site at the dialysis clinic, which is subsequently mixed into dialysate. Once in the dialysate, Triferic crosses the dialyzer membrane and enters the blood where it immediately binds to apo-transferrin and is taken to the bone marrow, similar to how dietary iron is processed in the human body. In completed clinical trials to date, Triferic has demonstrated that it can safely and effectively deliver sufficient iron to the bone marrow, maintain hemoglobin and not increase iron stores (ferritin), while significantly reducing ESA dose. {Read more]



From RadioAustralia.net , Samoa

Volunteers keep cost low - Samoa Kidney Foundation

There's some remarkable account keeping at the Samoa Kidney Foundation.

While the number of people undergoing dialysis at the foundation's centre in Apia has increased more than ten fold over the last nine years, its budget has remained stuck on five million dollars a year.

When the centre opened in 2005 it had six patients, now it has 75, and the queue is getting longer as more people join the waiting list for dialysis.

Presenter: Richard Ewart

Speaker: Mulipola Roger Hazelman, General Manager, National Kidney Foundation, Samoa

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Finding Kidneys

Finding Kidneys

From SouthernGazette, Marystown, Newfoundland, Canada, by Paul Herridge

Leaving no stone unturned

Grand Falls-Windsor resident helping Marystown woman find kidney donor

Cynthia Faulkner truly believes she has found her calling.


When her son, Justin Bradbury, developed complications from diabetes and required kidney dialysis, there was little the Grand Fall-Windsor resident could do. He passed away last May, just a few months shy of his 41st birthday.

Ms. Faulkner said “He was too sick to even be considered for a kidney transplant.”

The loss has obviously been tough for Ms. Faulkner but it has also inspired her to help others. One of those people is Dianne Pardy of Marystown.

Ms. Faulkner and her son met Ms. Pardy at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s in January 2011.

Justin and Ms. Pardy struck up a conversation in the hallway and discovered a common bond.

Diagnosed with genetic polycystic kidney disease in 1992, slowly causing the blood purifying organs to lose their function over time, Ms. Pardy noted she was at the hospital for surgery to prepare to start dialysis as well.

“We carried on our friendship from there on.”

Over time, Ms. Faulkner said she and her son grew close to Ms. Pardy, often offering words of encouragement to one another. When Justin required open-heart surgery for a blood clot, Dianne drove to St. John’s to see him.

“My son just dearly loved her,” she said.

On the nine-month anniversary of Justin’s passing last month, Ms. Faulkner said she was sitting at home at three o’clock in the morning, thinking about her son, when an idea came to her. Why not set up a Facebook page to see if she could find a kidney donor for Ms. Pardy, 42.

“So that’s what I did.”

Ms. Faulkner said the response has been “phenomenal.”

As of last week, ‘Let’s Find a Kidney Donor for Dianne’ had more than 2,000 members, sparking interest far and wide, from California to Sweden. [Read more]



From TimesUnion, Albany, New York, by Claire Hughes

Website seeks to link Albany kidney patients with donors

An unexpected connection saved Patti Merritt from the life she anticipated after being diagnosed with kidney disease, a life like her father's, which ended early after lots of time hooked to a dialysis machine.

She paid it forward, creating a website, Kidney Connection, that links Buffalo-area residents who need kidneys with people willing to donate them.

Now the site is expanding to Albany, with a new tab called "The Albany Connection."

"In the world of social media that we live in, it's just one more way that we can help folks who are waiting," Merritt said Tuesday at the Legislative Office Building, as she and other advocates with the Northeast Kidney Foundation prepared to lobby lawmakers.

People who need kidneys wait an average of three to five years for an organ from a living donor, advocates said. In the eight years that the Kidney Connection has existed, 11 people in western New York have received kidneys from living donors who lived close by but were not their relatives. The number may seem small. Merritt, however, views each match as a huge success.

"They would not have happened were it not for the Kidney Connection, because these were strangers," said Merritt, a resident of the Buffalo suburb of Grand Island. When Merritt, now 49, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, she imagined repeating her father's life. He died at 56 after eight years of dialysis.

But when her sister-in-law heard of the diagnosis, she immediately offered a kidney, saying she had always thought about donating an organ to someone. Merritt didn't even realize someone who wasn't a relative could do that. She learned that the most important part of a match was having compatible blood types. That was the germ of idea for Kidney Connection.

People tell their stories about needing a kidney there. And kind strangers find them. The person in need of a kidney chooses how they prefer to be contacted — by phone, email or through a transplant center. Local TV coverage has helped spread the word, Merritt said.

"The people who come forward are not weirdos," Merritt, a social worker, reassured her audience of fellow advocates Tuesday. "They are normal, competent people who are just moved to help."

There are national websites that do the same thing as the Kidney Connection. While they might draw from a larger population of potential donors, Merritt believes there is something powerful about helping a neighbor.

And Kidney Connection is free, unlike some national sites. [Read more]



From ABC27.com, Fort Indian Gap, PA, By Karissa Shatzer

Famous-Love Update: Midstate soldier donates kidney to comrade

It has been a month since abc27 News told you about a Midstate soldier who donated his kidney to another.

abc27 News caught up with Sgt. Dan Famous and Sgt. Joe Love on Thursday.

Famous has polycystic kidney disease and was in desperate need of a transplant when Love, a fellow soldier, answered the call.

"It was something that I felt called to do, I felt is a privilege to do," Love said. "To donate my kidney to a man that I respect and admire is an easy decision."

In February, doctors took one of Love's healthy kidneys.

"Might just be mental, but my left side feels empty," Love said.

Doctors put his kidney into Famous, replacing his failing kidney. Famous looks and feels healthy but there are some things he will have to get used to.

"I'll be on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of my life," Famous said, "much better than being on dialysis, yes."

Dialysis would have ended his military career and made his job as a husband and father much tougher.

"Getting this kidney is going to allow me to continue on with how I want to live my life, the things I want to do with my life, how I interact with my family, the things that we're going to do," Famous said.

The pair's "Famous-Love" story reached people across the country. They are hoping it will inspire others to take on a similar mission.

"If somebody can take the time to go get tested and donate a kidney, it'll change lives a thousand fold just receiving a kidney and not having to do dialysis," Famous said.

"If I had a third kidney to give away and I knew someone that needed it, absolutely," said Love.

There are currently nearly 100,000 people in the country waiting for a kidney transplant and the need for living donors is growing.

A kidney from a living donor is preferred because it can last twice as long as a cadaver kidney.

For more information on organ donation you can visit the following websites:

www.pinnaclehealth.org/transplant

www.organdonor.gov/index.html

www.donatelifepa.org



Kidney News

From CTVNews, Calgary, Canada, by Ryan White

Nighttime the right time for dialysis?

More than two dozen patients at the Foothills Medical Centre’s dialysis unit are receiving treatment while they sleep as part of an overnight hemodialysis program.

The 26 patients in the program, situated in Unit 27 at the hospital, have experienced kidney failure and receive nocturnal hemodialysis three times a week to clean their blood of built up toxins and excess fluid. The eight hour, overnight treatments, are much gentler on the body than the traditional, four hour daytime dialysis sessions which, according to Dr. Jennifer MacRae, medical director of hemodialysis and home hemodialysis in the Southern Alberta Renal Program, are known to cause significant discomfort in patients.

“They tend to not tolerate it very well and have very low energy states,” said Dr. MacRae. “The mortality rate for a kidney patient at five years is approaching 50 per cent.”

30-year-old Caitlin Tighe says the program has resulted in a significant increase in her energy level.

“Now I can go for a swim or do hot yoga in the morning right after dialysis,” said Tighe. “Before, when I was doing four hours (of dialysis) during the day, I’d be so wiped out afterwards that I’d have to go home and sleep for another four hours. And then, not long after that, it would be time for bed.”

Studies have shown the long term impact of dialysis has not resulted in improved outlooks for patients and researchers continue to look for new ways to deliver better dialysis, including slowing the process during overnight treatment.

Dr. MacRae says providing dialysis to a patient over eight hours, three times a week, appears to result in an increase in a patient’s tolerance of dialysis, a reduction in the severity of a patient’s symptoms, and an increase in quality of life. [Read more]



From Emory University News, Office of Technology Transfer, Atlanta Georgia

iChoose Kidney app helps patients understand treatment options

26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease and millions of others are at increased risk, according to the National Kidney Foundation's website.

Patients suffering from kidney disease are presented with two main treatment options: dialysis and kidney transplant. Medical studies have shown that receiving a kidney transplant yields a better quality of life and chance of survival than going on dialysis. While it is required by law for clinicians or physicians to discuss kidney transplant as a treatment option with their patients, Emory epidemiologist Rachel Patzer, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in surgery, says that many eligible patients are not being referred for kidney transplantation. Through her research, Patzer found that such disparities were often present in regions outside the Atlanta area.

"There are disparities in who is getting access to that information about transplant, which I think is leading to some of the disparities we see in access to getting on the waiting list and receiving a transplant," Patzer says. While Patzer says the optimal treatment for kidney disease is transplant, she says this depends on patients' individualized risk profile, which includes factors such as their age and other possible medical conditions they may have.

To address treatment disparities and help patients understand the best treatment option for their individual cases, Patzer and her team created theiCHOOSE Kidney iPad application. The iCHOOSE Kidney app is a shared-decision making tool for providers or clinicians to use with their patients to inform them about potential risks and benefits of each treatment. "The app basically walks you through different risks for treatment options," Patzer says. [Read more]



From VibeGhana, Africa

10 percent of kidney patients die-Kidney Specialist

Dr. Charlotte Osafo, Head of Kidney Unit at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, says 10 per cent of medical admissions at the Kidney clinic of the Hospital die from kidney failure.

She said out of 2000 patients that visited the clinic annually, only one per cent could afford dialysis treatment due to its expensive nature; and that a kidney patient has to spend not less than GHc1000 a week on dialysis.

“Though kidney infection can be cured through kidney transplant but unless a relative or a donor donates one to a Kidney patient”, she noted.

She, therefore, entreated the general public to visit a health facility at least once every year for a medical check-up for early detection so that appropriate intervention mechanism could be provided to avert a worse case scenario.

Dr. Osafo said this during a kidney screening for the staff of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in Takoradi on Thursday which coincided with the International Kidney Day celebration.

The event was organized by the GRA and the National Kidney Foundation in collaboration with the Ghana Kidney Association and the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.

It was also aimed at educating the general public about the kidney diseases and other related infections so that people would seek early treatment.

Dr. Osafo, a kidney Specialist, warned the general public to desist from self-medication, too much painkillers, alcohol, consumption of herbal concoctions as well as too much salt intake.

She also entreated persons with blood pressure, HIV, diabetes to abide strictly by medical treatment regime since such diseases are recipe for one getting Kidney problems.

Touching on the symptoms of kidney infections, Dr. Osafo indicated that an affected kidney person might pass a lot of urine at night, sweat profusely, vomiting, tiredness, blood in the faeces and experience swollen feet.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Kidney Disease on the Rise Among Seniors



Kidney Disease

From Sunrise Senior Living, by Julia Little

Study: Kidney Disease On The Rise Among Seniors

Seniors face a greater risk of a number of health issues, and a new study suggests that chronic kidney disease may be one of the most significant threats to their well-being. Researchers found that the number of adults 80 and older who have CKD has increased considerably over the last 20-plus years, a growing prevalence that has impacted a large swath of the adult population, according to results published in Journal of the American Medical Association.

Worsening function
To assess seniors' kidney function, researchers relied on answers to the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, which was conducted between 1988 and 2010. The team was specifically interested in glomerular filtration rate, which measures how fast blood flows through certain filters in the kidneys. After analyzing the results concerning 3,500 adults 80 an older, researchers found that GFR was present in about 41 percent of people between 1988 and 1994. However, that number rose to about 51 percent between 2005 and 2010.

Given the rising prevalence, study researchers say that "efforts to address CKD among the oldest old may be necessary."

Raises risk of other conditions
The results are particularly worrisome, because CKD can raise the chances that seniors develop other conditions such as kidney failure and cardiovascular disease. According to the National Institutes of Health, seniors are at a greater risk for CKD for a number of reasons, largely due to the fact that the overall kidney tissues decrease and blood vessels that supply kidneys may harden over time. However, there are certain steps older adults can take to maintain their kidney function as they age.

Dedication to diet
Eating the right foods can have a significant impact on healthy senior living, and that's especially true when it comes to kidney function. For instance, certain fruits are particularly helpful, including grapes, cranberries and blueberries. Vegetables such as spinach, string beans, celery and asparagus are helpful as well. Of course, eating well is not the only way for seniors to maintain their kidney function, according to the Polycystic Kidney Disease Research Foundation. Controlling blood pressure through exercise is important as well, as is maintaining healthy blood sugar levels by eating smaller, healthier meals more frequently throughout the day.



From Lancaster Online, Lancaster, PA, By MARY BETH SCHWEIGERT

Is kidney disease an 'epidemic'?

The National Kidney Foundation reports that 1 in 9 American adults has kidney disease.

The condition kills 90,000 Americans every year — more than breast and prostate cancer deaths combined.

Dr. Laurence E. Carroll has seen enormous growth in the number of local patients with kidney disease since 1980, when he started Hypertension & Kidney Specialists, 2112 Harrisburg Pike.

“There is concern that there’s an epidemic of kidney disease in the past 10 to 20 years,” he says. “(In the 1980s) there were 40 (local) dialysis patients. Now there’s over 500.”

The number of local dialysis units has swelled to serve those patients. Ten doctors and six nurse practitioners have joined the practice Carroll started on his own.

Carroll, now retired and president-elect for the Kidney Foundation of Central Pennsylvania’s board of directors, says part of the surge is due to a growing — and aging — population.

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, followed by hypertension, he says. Both conditions also are growing and become more common with age.

Treatment options for kidney failure include dialysis or a transplant. The National Kidney Foundation reports that 430,000 Americans are on dialysis.

Dialysis keeps people alive, Carroll says, but if a donor is available, a transplant offers the best outcome.

According to the NKF, more than 99,000 Americans currently need a kidney transplant. Fewer than 17,000 receive one each year.

“Transplants are the way to go,” Carroll says. “We need donors.”



PKD News

From DNA India, New Delhi, India

Delhi hospital sets up polycystic kidney disease foundation

The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Wednesday launched the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation of India, ahead of the World Kidney Day that would be observed March 13.

Aimed at increasing awareness about the disease, the foundation will provide information, advice and support to those affected.

"Through the foundation, genetic testing will be provided on complimentary basis and finances will be raised to fund research. This will help in finding a cure for PKD," said PKD Foundation chairman D.S. Rana.

PKD is a group of disorders that result from the formation and enlargement of cysts in the kidneys.

Foundation secretary I.C. Verma said PKD was the world's most common "inherited disorder".

"It is twice as common as multiple sclerosis and affects more people than muscular dystrophy, haemophilia, Down's syndrome and cystic fibrosis. Its frequency ranges from one in 800 to one in 1,000 people. Almost 10 lakh individuals in India have Autosomal Dominant PKD," he said.

Rana said the disease causes five percent of end-stage renal disease in India.

If either of the parents has ADPKD, there is a 50 percent chance that the child will inherit the disease, he added.



Living With PKD

From FarNews, Terhan

Could Grapefruit Be Good for Your Kidneys?

Scientists discovered that a natural product found in grapefruit can prevent kidney cysts from forming.

Naringenin, which is also present in other citrus fruits, has been found to successfully block the formation of kidney cysts, an effect that occurs in polycystic kidney disease, by regulating the PKD2 protein responsible for the condition. With few treatments currently available, symptoms include high blood pressure and loss of kidney function, and lead to the need for dialysis.

World Kidney Day, which is being marked across the globe on 13th March, aims to raise awareness of the importance of kidneys and the risk factors for kidney disease. The discovery of the benefits of naringenin could prove to be a vital step forward in the future treatment and prevention of kidney disease.

Professor Robin Williams, from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, said: "This discovery is vital in helping us to understand how polycystic kidney disease may be controlled and ultimately treated. Kidney disease is a debilitating condition that can be fatal and finding a treatment is a truly urgent health priority."


Dialysis Research

From Ceramics.org, by April Gocha, PhD

Wearable zeolite filters show promise as an alternative to kidney dialysis

Researchers from the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectronics (MANA) at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science have developed a simple and cheap mesh filter that could change the lives of kidney dialysis patients.

Kidneys are like the wastewater treatment plants for your body’s blood—they filter the good stuff from the bad, shunting wastes away and purifying the fluids that stay in circulation. Kidneys balance blood composition by regulating ion and chemical concentrations in the blood, remove waste products, and maintaining bodily water content, among other important functions. So when kidneys fail, it’s a big problem.

Patients with kidney failure must undergo dialysis, a medical procedure that uses a mechanical external kidney to perform the duties of a patient’s defunct organs. Blood must be pumped from the body, through the filtration machine, and then returned to the patient’s body, which means costly, repetitive, inconvenient, and invasive procedures are the norm for dialysis patients.

Areas without an established healthcare infrastructure also have trouble supporting dialysis patients, because they’re often unable to provide and maintain costly equipment and frequent procedures. This is also true of areas with interrupted healthcare services, such as after a major disaster (such as the Fukushima tsunami)—which is precisely what prompted the Japanese scientists to search for a dialysis alternative.

Their findings, published in Biomaterials Science, describe the synthesis of a dual-component filter composed of a matrix of polyethylene-co-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) nanofibers embedded with a mixture of zeolites, microporous aluminosilicates that can absorb uremic toxins (see images above). Embedded zeolites have decreased absorptivity from their free-ranging counterparts, but the authors describe in the paper’s abstract that their filter-incorporated zeolites still had 67% of the absorption of free zeolites. [Read more]

Sunday, March 9, 2014

March 13th is World Kidney Day, March is National Kidney Month

Kidney Awareness

From Seaside Courier, Oceanside, CA

March is National Kidney Month: What Everyone Needs to Know


March is National Kidney Month, a great time to focus on kidney health and treatment. If you don’t know much about the topic, get informed -- kidney disease is common and can be deadly.

In fact, kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in America, according to the National Kidney Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in three Americans are at risk for kidney disease.

Risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes and a family history of a kidney disease.

Staying Healthy

Certain lifestyle changes can help promote healthy kidney function. Your doctor may prescribe a well-balanced diet low in cholesterol, sodium, processed foods and sugar. Get plenty of physical activity. Stay hydrated. Avoid unhealthy habits such as smoking.

Talk to your doctor about your risk and preventive steps you can take.

How Treatment Works

In a healthy body, kidneys clean the blood by removing excess fluid, minerals and wastes. However, for patients with kidney failure, kidneys don’t function properly and they need a medical treatment called dialysis to clean their blood.

More than 430,000 people in the U.S. undergo dialysis at home or in clinics yearly, according to the United States Renal Data System.

There are two types of dialysis: peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. Peritoneal dialysis uses a cleansing fluid that is instilled into the patient’s peritoneal cavity, the fluid-filled gap between the walls of the abdomen and organs, and then drained after a prescribed period of time. The patient’s own peritoneal membrane acts as a natural filter for removing excess fluids and wastes.

Hemodialysis requires the patient to have a permanent access site to his or her cardiovascular system and uses a machine to remove blood from the patient, pump it through an artificial kidney that removes toxins and excess fluids, and then return the blood to the body. [Read more]


From Hartford Courant, Hartford, Conneticut, by Alisa Gaudiosi, Alliances by Alisa Media Relations Statewide

READER SUBMITTED: World Kidney Day On March 13 Encourages Living Donation To Save Others

Today, as a mother of four daughters, Heather Shaw is always on the go. But back in 1999, while five months pregnant with her first child, Shaw developed something called Hydronephrosis, the swelling of the kidney due to back up of urine. This was the beginning of what has become a long and difficult battle withkidney disease.

Shaw's baby girl was born suffering seizures and in her first six weeks of life, she was in and out of the hospital. Heather was so focused on her new baby that she lost track of her own medical concerns and ended up in ICU with acute renal failure. She had contracted an infection and inadvertently overdosed on ibuprofen. She was ultimately diagnosed with FSGS (Focal and Segmental Glomerulosclerosis), a rare disease that attacks the kidney's filtering system causing serious scarring.

"I was told then that I would eventually need a transplant," she said.

Even though she was advised not to have any more children, the years to come brought three more little ones.

In total, she dealt with kidney disease for thirteen years until her kidneys reached a point requiring a serious intervention - dialysis.

"Being on dialysis was honestly the most awful thing I have ever had to do. I was extremely tired and sick on the days I had to go and it made it very difficult to be able to do the normal tasks like cooking or cleaning," she said.

She only had to endure dialysis three and a half months because her brother stepped up and made a profound decision that will forever change Shaw's life. Her brother had always said that he would donate a kidney if he was a match.

On March 13, 2013 Shaw received a kidney from her brother. The date couldn't have been more perfect - March 13th is World Kidney Day.

"I don't think grateful is strong enough of a word as to how I feel about what he did." said Shaw.

Shaw was lucky to have a donor. But so many others don't. Kidney disease kills over 90,000 Americans a year - more than breast and prostate cancer combined. One in ten American adults have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and most don't even know it. The National Kidney Foundation says high blood pressure and diabetes are the two leading causes of kidney disease. Of the more than 120,000 Americans currently on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant, over 99,000 need a kidney.

Too many think that being an organ donor is a gift you give only after you're gone. While it is important to talk about end-of-life decisions including organ donation, it is becoming more common to donate organs and partial organs while living. Kidneys are the most common organs donated by living donors. As a result of her brother's gift, Shaw now has the energy to be a mom.

LifeChoice Donor Services, Inc. is the federally designated, non-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) for six counties in Connecticut and three counties in Western Massachusetts. For information and to join the Donor Registry, visit http://www.lifechoiceopo.org or call 1-800-874-5215.



Gift of Life

From Long Island NewsDay, New York, by Tom Rock

Giants quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf saved Kevin Gilbride's sister's life

The Giants' former offensive coordinator met with the Giants' current quarterbacks coach for the first time on Thursday night. And they weren't talking football. Their connection runs much deeper.

Kevin Gilbride, the play-caller who retired at the end of the 2013 season, was at the Polycycstic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation benefit in Manhattan. He was honoring Danny Langsdorf, who, seven years ago, donated a kidney that saved the life of Gilbride's sister, Laurie Cavanaugh.

"It's impossible to find the words to express to someone: Without you, my little sister wouldn't be alive," Gilbride said moments before being introduced to Langsdorf. "I'm the oldest of the seven and she's the youngest girl. She's my baby sister. You say thank you. Thank you for saving her life. There's no way we can repay you. It's a beautiful story."

The Gilbride family has a history of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Kevin Gilbride's father died from it in 1972 at the age of 45, and he has a brother and sister who needed transplants. Those were more routine, Gilbride said, but Laurie required some special genetic needs from her donor.

Langsdorf was coaching at Oregon State at the time of the donation and was good friends with another coach on staff, Mike Cavanaugh. That was Laurie's husband.

Over the years, as Laurie's condition worsened and dozens of potential donors were rejected -- so many that Gilbride said he gave up counting -- Langsdorf kept tabs on her deterioration. [Read more]



PKD Fund Raising

From Argus Observer, Ontario, Canada, by Christina Marfice


The Western Treasure Valley is rallying around an Ontario resident who turned to Facebook to raise money for a kidney transplant.

Since 51-year-old Jeff Canas launched his Facebook page, Help Jeff to Hope, it has gradually gained steam and helped him raise more than $8,000 so far. Canas is suffering from polycystic kidney disease and, now in end-stage renal failure, is forced to undergo 11 hours of dialysis each day.

“I’m too young to be this sick,” Canas told the Argus Observer in February. “This transplant means a totally new beginning for me.”

Many have heard Jeff’s call for help and have risen to the occasion.

“It’s been pretty crazy,” Canas said. “A lot of people I haven’t heard from in a long time have been calling and donating, a lot of people I don’t even know.”

New Plymouth resident Kathy Davis is using her booth at the New Plymouth Senior Citizens’ Spring Bazaar Saturday to raise funds for Canas. All the proceeds from her booth will go to his donation fund, she said.

She’ll be at the bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the New Plymouth Senior Center, 126 N. Plymouth Ave.

The Ontario Elks are holding a fundraiser for Canas Friday, March 21. From 5 to 9 p.m., the Elks Lodge will host a potluck dinner and an auction including items such as guided hunting trips, rifles, gift baskets and gift certificates. Organizer Russ White said donations are still needed, and those interested in donating to the auction can contact him at (208) 284-4649.

Those who still want to donate to Canas can do so through his Facebook page athttps://www.facebook.com/jscee111 or by visiting any Washington Federal Bank branch.

“I just really appreciate everybody coming out and helping,” Canas said. “I can’t even say enough about people coming out. It’s been great.” [Read more]



From Camden Haven Courier, Australia, By Mark Gallagher

Metres of Michelle's hair to go

BEING diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease has motivated local resident Michelle Dalton to look at ways to help herself and other people with similar problems by raising money for Kidney Health Australia.

So Michelle has decided to sacrifice her long hair, donate it to help women with cancer, and ask people to support her fundraising effort by donating money to Kidney Health Australia.

Kidney Health Australia, formerly known as the Australian Kidney Foundation, is a national health care charity with a vision to save and improve the lives of Australians affected by kidney disease.

Michelle has set herself a goal of raising $1000 for the kidney charity by the end of April, when she will have her cut and donated to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which supports women with cancer by providing free real-hair wigs those who have lost their locks through treatment.

Streamline Hair Design at Lakewood will support her by cutting her hair, which she has been growing for nearly five years, Michelle said, and her daughter is having her long hair cut too and also donating it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

Diagnosed about two years ago with the serious kidney disease, Michelle says she has managed to stabilise her condition by radically changing her diet to a very low salt regime, helped by her family who also changed to the same way of eating.

She is hoping to stay healthy and put off the need to have dialysis treatments or an eventual transplant.

Family and facebook friends have already donated more than $250 to her campaign, and Michelle says she would love to be able to exceed her $1000 target.

Anyone who wishes to help Michelle's fund raising can do so at give.everydayhero.com/au/michelle-dalton.

Kidney Health Australia says that each year more Australians die with kidney related disease than breast cancer, prostate cancer and even road deaths. Sadly, one in three Australians is at increased risk of kidney disease and an estimated 1.7 million Australians over the age of 25 already have at least one clinical sign of existing kidney disease.



Dialysis Research

From ABC.net Australia

Artificial kidney belt may be dialysis game changer

A Melbourne conference has heard an artificial kidney belt has been approved for human trials in the US. It would release dialysis patients from the routine of being hooked up to a dialysis machine at a clinic and Kidney Health Australia says it would also be cheaper for the health system.



From Health.India, by Shraddha Rupavate


Our kidneys perform the function of filtering blood to remove all toxic wastes from the body. In people with reduced kidney function or kidney failure, the blood does not get filtered properly which results in excess build up of wastes in the system. Currently, dialysis is a common treatment used to treat such patients. But dialysis is a process that involves a lot of specifications and is expensive as well as time consuming. The machines need electricity to run and also requires vigilant maintenance. Moreover, the machines are not readily available in all parts of the countries.

Mitsuhiro Ebara along with co-workers at The International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science in Ibaraki, Japan synthesized a nanofibre mesh capable of eliminating toxic and waste products from the blood. The researchers believe that the device can serve as a cheap alternative to dialysis for patients suffering from kidney failure all over the world.

By devising this nanofibre mesh, the WPI-MANA researchers have widened the scope of treatment in patients requiring dialysis. The mesh can be simply integrated into a blood purification product small enough to be worn on a patient’s arm. The nanofibre mesh is actually made up of a polymer that is compatible with blood components. The polymer is synthesised from polyethylene-co-vinyl alchohol (EVOH), and various zeolites that can easily adsorb toxins like creatinine from blood.

According to the researchers, the new design of the nanofibre mesh is still in its early stages and not yet ready for production. But the team is confident that their nanofiber mesh will soon be a feasible, compact and cheap alternative to dialysis for kidney failure patients across the world. [Read more]



From Medical Xpress, by Juliette Fhij

A new generation of dialysis devices

Kidney dialysis is a heavy treatment to undergo and has many side effects. Scientist Prof Dimitrios Stamatialis is starting a new research project into the development of new dialysis membranes for longer and better blood detoxification. The project belongs to The Life Science and Health (LSH) Impuls program and is performed in collaboration between industry, the Dutch Kidney Foundation, Maastricht University and the Maastricht University Medical Center (UMC+). Prof Stamatialis is affiliated with the MIRA research institute of the University of Twente.

Hemodialysis is by far the most common form of dialysis undergone by kidney patientswho are dependent on it. This involves purifying the blood outside of the patient's body using an artificial kidney. The artificial kidney is housed in a large dialysis machine. Treatment usually takes place two or three times a week and each session lasts around three to five hours. While dialysis is a lifesaving treatment, it has a significant effect on the kidney patient's body and life. Since the treatment is not continuous, waste products accumulate between dialysis sessions and the patient's fluid balance fluctuates significantly. This means that kidney patients feel exhausted more quickly and are often nauseous. Headaches and itching are also common complaints.

Longer and better

Prof Dimitrios Stamatialis is starting research into the development of a new artificial kidney device based on new blood-compatible biomaterials combined with adsorbent particles for toxin removal. These filters can be used for longer periods of time and are expected to remove a broad range of toxins. The filters currently used generally remove only small uremic toxins.

"If patients are able to undergo dialysis more frequently and / or for longer periods of time, their fluid balance is better," explains Prof Stamatialis. "The waste products in the blood do not accumulate between treatments and this means that patients feel better. I am also focusing on the development of better filters."

Lightweight portable device

Longer, better and smaller are the keywords of Stamatialis' research. Prof Stamatialis: "My long term ambition is the development of a lightweight portable device which patients can use for a longer period of time. In this new project, we will make significant progress in this direction. We will develop the new devices and test them on small animals." [Read more]

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Learning to Take Action: Teacher and Students Raise £40,000 for PKD and Other Causes

PKD Fundraising

From Manchester Evening News, United Kingdom, by Ruhubia Akbor

Shaw action man and his pupils raise £40k for charity

St Joseph’s RC Primary’s Steve Hill has spent the past four years completing a series of challenges in aid of numerous good causes including Cancer Research UK, PKD Charity and CAFOD.

An action man deputy head and his generous pupils have raised a staggering £40,000 for charity.

St Joseph’s RC Primary’s Steve Hill has spent the past four years completing a series of challenges in aid of numerous good causes including Cancer Research UK , PKD Charity and CAFOD .

Youngsters have also raised thousands for Supporting Shane – a fund set up for Year 2 pupil Shane Keating who suffers from rare muscle wasting disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

The school, in Shaw , Oldham , aims to raise at least £10,000 a year - and has already smashed this year's target.

Mr Hill said: “I enjoy a challenge and I like an adventure and over the last few years my classes and I have used these personal challenges and the children’s enthusiasm to raise just over £40,000 for charity.

“As always, 'Mr Hill’s Challenges' as they have become known, really enthused the children and grabbed their imagination.

“They got right behind me from the start, and have been fully involved in the fundraising for these very worthy causes.”

Over the last 12 months Mr Hill has successfully completed a trek through the jungles of Borneo and has scaled Mount Kinabalu – the highest mountain in south east Asia. [Read more]



From Messenger Newspapers, Sale, United Kingdom

Sale slimmers to shed the pounds for charity

A GROUP of big-hearted slimmers from Brooklands, Sale, are doing a sponsored slim to raise money for two good causes - Stockdales and Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Members of the Brooklands Slimming World group, which is held every week at St John the Divine Church, Brooklands Road, are taking part in a national Slim for Good campaign.

Natalie James, fundraising manager, for Stockdales, based in Sale, says: “We’re thrilled that Slimming World members in Brooklands have chosen to support us. Their donations will help fund our new minibus which will be used for day service activities so adults can learn more skills to become more independent as well as day trips and holidays.”

Anyone wanting to take part in the six-week Slim for Good campaign can do so any time from Wednesday 26th February. Sponsorship forms are available from the Brooklands Slimming World group, which is held at St John the Divine Church every Wednesday at 5.30pm and 7.30pm.



From HinckleyTimes, United Kingdom, by Rachel Parrish


Rachel Hillyard hopes to raise hundreds of pounds for the unit at Leicester General Hospital which cared for her father.

An Earl Shilton mum who suffers from a life-threatening kidney disease is to have her head shaved for charity just weeks before she is due to be chief bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding.

Rachel Hillyard, 39, from Astley Road, hopes to raise hundreds of pounds for the renal unit at Leicester General Hospital, which cared for her father, who also had the disease for more than 30 years.

Stu Hillyard died in September 2013 from kidney failure caused by polycystic kidney disease (PKD) at the age of 60.

Rachel has inherited the condition, which causes fluid-filled cysts to form inside and outside of both kidneys, and may face the same fate.

She is currently being treated for stage two symptoms but says that they could progress to the final stage five symptom - kidney failure - at any time.

The disease can spread to other organs and in Rachel’s case is already affecting her liver. [Read more]



From MySuburbanLife.com, Addison, IL

Addison sports bar to host fundraiser for kidney transplant

ADDISON – Pyramid Sports Bar in Addison will host a fundraiser for a Lake in the Hills, IL man who needs a kidney transplant.
Patrick Turchan has polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary illness, and his kidneys have started to fail during the past year. His grandmother, mother and brother all have died from complications related to polycystic kidney disease.... [Read more]



Gift of Life

From Irish Mirror, by Alana Fearon

Family of brave 16-year-old have thanked the mystery kidney donor who gave their son the gift of life

The family of a brave 16-year-old have thanked the mystery donor who gave their son the gift of life.

For Jack Howard’s family his kidney transplant was “much more than a dream come true” last summer.

Jack – who was born with rare Charge Syndrome leaving him blind in one eye, deaf in one ear and needing peg-fed – was given the heartbreaking news back in 2012 that he needed to start dialysis.

The bubbly teen from Cloonfad, Co Roscommon, had one of his kidneys removed in 2007 and was told he’d eventually need his other faulty kidney replaced.

When he started gruelling home dialysis five nights a week in September 2012, his devoted dad Robert offered to give his son one of his kidneys and was found to be a perfect match. But just as he was gearing up for the surgery the Howards got the call last July that a kidney was available and Jack got his life-changing op in Dublin’s Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

Mum Amanda revealed: “Jack was only on the transplant list for 10 months when he got his kidney and I wake up every day thinking how lucky we were and how surreal it all was.

“There are no words to describe how selfless the donor’s family were giving us this gift of life but I sent an anonymous letter to them through the donor co-ordinator before Christmas to thank them. Jack has been a miracle from the word go. [Read more]



From Portland Tribune, by Beverly Corbell

Kidney donation from niece saves aunt's life

Every year in America, 69,000 people die from kidney failure. Many of those lives could be saved if more people were willing to donate a kidney, says Peggy Parker, of Gresham a registered nurse who does home visits and community outreach for Care Oregon.

Parker knows what she’s talking about, not only from a professional perspective but from first-hand experience. In early December, Parker and her aunt, Amie Griggs, of Boring went into surgery together at Legacy Good Samaritan Transplant Center, where Parker donated one of her kidneys to Griggs.

It was a lifesaver for Griggs, 50, who had gotten sicker and sicker before the transplant to the point that she was vomiting everything she ate because her body was so ill from kidney failure. Her illness, polycystic kidney disease, is hereditary, and she got it from her father.

According to the website of the American Kidney Fund, more than 600,000 Americans have polycystic kidney disease, or PKD. The disease causes cysts to grow on the kidneys, damaging them, and over time leads to kidney failure.

Many people think kidney failure can be solved with dialysis, said Parker, but they’re wrong.

“Dialysis just barely keeps you alive,” she said.

The other answer to kidney failure is a transplant, with the kidney coming from a recent death or better, from a living donor. People don’t really need two kidneys, Parker said, and even though it’s more of a painful process for the donor than for the recipient, a life is not only saved, but the quality of life for the recipient is vastly improved.

Griggs said her father’s mother had PKD and died at 42 in 1940, but the cause of her death was only discovered after an autopsy. Griggs said the disease doesn’t fully manifest usually until a person is well into adulthood. She was tested early for PKD, at age 7, but the results were inconclusive, she said. Her three older sisters tested negative for having PKD, so she though she was safe. [Read more]



From HeraldScotland, Edinburgh

Sister-in-law saved by kidney pairing

A woman has given the ultimate gift to her gravely ill sister-in-law, donating her own kidney to a stranger to save her relative's life.

Sue Heathcote, 55, from Ayr, underwent an organ donation procedure known as kidney pairing to allow her sister-in-law Claire, 41, to receive a new kidney.

Paired donation is when a donor and recipient are incompatible but they are instead matched with another donor and recipient pair in the same situation and the kidneys are exchanged or swapped.


Claire Heathcote, a mother of two, has suffered from a form of kidney failure called Adult Polycystic Kidney Disease since birth.

In recent years her health began to deteriorate until last Christmas when her kidney function was working at only 8% of that of a healthy kidney. Unfortunately kidney dialysis was not a straight forward option and her family members were tested in the hopes of donating a kidney but were unsuitable matches.

She said: ". I was at a meeting with my doctor and we were discussing future treatment options. He mentioned 'kidney pairing'."

A computer in Bristol stores details of participating donors and recipients. Every three months it runs a check to see if any new donors match existing details on the register.

Sue said: "I was absolutely thrilled that I was able to register... in July last year Claire got a call to say that we had 'matched'. An altruistic donor had kindly donated to the 'pairing pool' and their kidney matched with Claire.

Sue added: "I had to take it easy after the operation and returned to work after about six weeks. I would appeal to everyone to consider kidney pairing. You only need one working kidney to survive."




Living with PKD and Kidney Disease

From The Straits Times, Singapore, by Salma Khalik


Every year, some people choose death over dialysis when their kidneys fail.

Without dialysis to clear toxins in their body, they are unlikely to survive long.

But there are others who are forced to forgo dialysis because they cannot afford it, or because their families said no.

At the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), 24 patients suitable for dialysis declined the procedure in 2011. [Read more]



PKD Research

From The Hindu Business Line, India, by K V KURMANATH

Palm-sized dialysis unit in the making

HYDERABAD, FEB 28:

You will soon hear of a palm sized dialysis machine that promises to change the way kidney patients take dialysis. Wearable artificial kidneys too are on the anvil. The man who led the research on this machine, Victor Gura, reportedly received US FDA permission to take up human trials.

This is among many critical research projects that give hopes to millions of patients who require dialysis to make up for faulty kidneys, those bean shaped filters whose work is not appreciated much. Kidney functions each time your heart beats. It clears blood of impurities and keep the system healthy, doctors say.

Awareness levels in the country on kidney failure are not as high as that of diabetes or hypertension. But doctors warn that, people who are diagnosed with either of the two or both conditions are candidates for kidney failures.

Good news is there are several advances in the field, helping the doctors in providing better and efficient dialysis methods.

“There are some ongoing research projects that will help in improve quality of life for kidney failure patients. They are working on the usability of transplanting kidneys from animals. Research would also help increase ability of the body to accept transplanted kidneys,” K S Nayak, a city-based nephrologist, said.

Global meet

Kidney specialists from across the world will discuss latest developments at the Haemodialysis University (convention) for two days here, beginning March 1.

The International Society for Haemodialysis is organising the third edition. The first and second editions were held in the US and China.

“You must ask your doctor three questions. What’s your blood sugar level, what’s your BP numbers and what’s your cholesterol level. If you have these figures on the wrong side and find protein in urine, you must know that you are a future candidate for kidney failure,” a senior nephrologists attending the conference said.

Nayak said absence of universal health coverage for of kidney failure patients was the biggest challenge in India. [Read more]

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) have created a synthetic form of low-molecular-weight heparin that can be reversed in cases of overdose and would be safer for patients with poor kidney function. 

“We took this drug and not only made it cost effectively, but we’ve also improved the properties of the drug,” said Robert Linhardt, the Ann and John H. Broadbent Jr. ’59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, a member of the Rensselaer Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS), and one of the inventors of the new drug. “The synthetic version that we’ve made is reversible, it can be used in renal patients, and it doesn’t come from animals, which is a critical advance in safety.” 

Heparin is an anticoagulant, and is most commonly extracted from pig intestines in two forms: unfractionated heparin, which is commonly used in procedures such as dialysis, and a more-refined low-molecular-weight (LMW) heparin, which is used around the world for preventing dangerous blood clots. A team led by Linhardt and Jian Liu, a professor in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, created a synthetic version of LMW heparin for which there is an existing antidote. Their creation is described in an article published online February 23 in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. 

Linhardt and Liu used a chemo-enzymatic process to synthesize the drug, an approach they developed in research on a simpler anticoagulant drug published in Science in October 2011. Synthesizing LMW heparin allowed them to make many improvements on the animal-derived form of the drug currently available. Linhardt’s research supports the Rensselaer School of Science interdisciplinary theme of biomedical science and applications, and is part of a research focus on biocatalysis and metabolic engineering within CBIS. His research on LMW heparin was funded by the National Institutes of Health. - [Read more]


An analysis of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in a national sample of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients receiving long-term dialysis has not been reported. It is often assumed that patients with ADPKD are not at increased risk of ICH after starting dialysis.

We hypothesized that patients with ADPKD would have a higher subsequent risk of ICH even after the start of chronic dialysis.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of Medicare primary patients with and without ADPKD in the United States Renal Data System (USRDS), initiated on chronic dialysis or transplanted between 1 January 1999 and 3 July 2009, and followed until 31 December 2009. Covariates included age, gender, race, prior stroke, diabetes mellitus, dialysis modality, body mass index, serum albumin and other co-morbid conditions from the Medical Evidence Form.

Primary outcome was ICH, based on inpatient and outpatient Medicare claims, and all-cause mortality. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for unadjusted assessment of time to events.

Cox regression was used for assessment of factors associated with ICH and mortality. We performed competing risk regression using kidney transplant and death as competing risks.

Kidney transplant was also modeled as a time-dependent covariate in Cox regression.

Results: Competing risk regression demonstrated that ADPKD had a subhazard ratio 2.97 for ICH (95% CI 2.27-3.89). Adjusted Cox analysis showed that ADPKD patients had an AHR for death of 0.59 vs.

non-ADPKD patients (95% CI 0.57-0.61).

Conclusions: ADPKD is a significant risk factor for ICH among patients on maintenance dialysis. Our Medicare primary cohort was older than in previous studies of intracranial aneurysm rupture among ADPKD patients.

There are also limitations inherent to using the USRDS database.

Author: David J YooLawrence AgodoaChristina M YuanKevin C AbbottRobert Nee
Credits/Source: BMC Nephrology 2014, 15:39