From RenalBusiness.com
GREGORY SCOTT NAMED CHAIRMAN OF THE NKF
NEW YORK— Gregory W. Scott of Newport Beach, CA., has been elected chairman of the National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF). He is currently president of Winfield Management, LLC, an investment management and real estate development company. Previously he served as chairman and CEO of APS Healthcare, Inc. and prior to that as executive vice president and CFO of PacifiCare Health Systems. Scott is a living donor, having gifted a kidney to his son, Steven, who suffered from polycystic kidney disease (PKD).
"One in three Americans is at risk for developing kidney disease and yet so few are aware of it," says Scott. "During my term as chairman, I want all Americans to understand these facts and come to the realization that it is important for everyone to protect our kidney health. Of course, this is absolutely essential for those individuals most at risk due to high blood pressure, diabetes or family history of kidney failure. Left unchecked and therefore untreated, kidney disease can lead to kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant. Early detection can prevent further kidney damage and so screening is essential. Our goal is also to generate awareness of healthy lifestyle and risk reduction strategies."
Scott plans to pursue these goals by building on established NKF educational efforts and advancing them. These include NKF's community health programs as well as the nationwide awareness campaign targeted at those at highest risk for developing kidney disease and the primary care providers who diagnose and treat them.
"Our Primary Care Education Initiative is going to have a major impact on awareness by making sure people at risk are tested, understand the basics about kidney function and are having the conversation with their primary care physician about the risks of developing kidney disease," says Scott. "My family has been touched by kidney disease and, the numbers suggest, there is a high likelihood that many others will be touched, also, at some point in time. I ask all Americans to join us at the National Kidney Foundation as we work to reduce the incidence of kidney disease and its impact on families across the country."
Fundraising for PKD
From the PKD Foundation
Fundraise Your Way: Take the fight against polycystic kidney disease into your own hands!
Are you passionate about finding treatments and a cure for PKD? Take the fight against this disease into your own hands by organizing a local fundraiser.You can do just about anything to raise dollars for PKD. Sean plunged into freezing waters. Cyrilla hiked 500 miles. Zac threw his daughter Anabel a birthday party.
And you? You can host a lemonade stand, neighborhood garage sale, bowl-a-thon, work jeans day or dinner party for PKD… the sky is the limit!
Get started today with these 3 easy steps:
Create your fundraiser. Begin today by creating your DIY fundraising webpage, customized by you with a photo and story.
Ask for support. Invite your friends, family members and co-workers to make a donation to your fundraiser. Our online tools and tips will help make your fundraising easy and rewarding.
Help end PKD. For every dollar you raise, 79 cents supports our mission-critical work of research, along with education and support services, advocacy and awareness programs.
Create your fundraiser today!
Questions? Email us at fundraisingevents@pkdcure.org.
Walk for PKD
From KSDK.com, Channel 5, St. Louis, MO, by Aja Williams (video clip)
Polycystic Kidney disease is one of the most common genetic diseases worldwide.
PKD affects both children
and adults, and often results in a need for dialysis or a kidney transplant. Right now, there's no treatment or cure for PKD, but the PKD Foundation hopes to change that.Sunday, a nationwide Walk for PKD will be held, and St. Louis is one of a number of cities taking part in it.
Volunteer Traci Short spoke to NewsChannel 5 at Noon about the walk and how people can help
.PKD Research
DeccanChronicle, India
Citrus fruits helps prevent formation of kidney cysts
A component of grapefruit and other citrus fruits like naringenin, blocks the formation of kidney cysts, a new study has revealed.
The team of scientists from Royal Holloway University, St George's, University of London and Kingston University London used a simple, single-celled amoeba to identify that naringenin regulates the PKD2 protein responsible for polycystic kidney disease and as a result, blocks formation of cysts.
Professor Robin Williams from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway said that this discovery provides an important step forward in understanding how polycystic kidney disease may be controlled.
To test how this discovery could apply in treatments, the team used a mammalian kidney cell-line, and triggered the formation of cysts in these cells. They were then able to block the formation of the cysts by adding naringenin and saw that when levels of the PKD2 protein were reduced in the kidney cells, so was the block in cyst formation, confirming that the effect was connected.
Meanwhile, Dr Mark Carew, from the School of Pharmacy and Chemistry at Kingston University, said further investigation is underway to understand the action of naringenin at the molecular level. This work will entail looking at the function of the PKD2 protein as a cell growth regulator.
The study is published in British Journal of Pharmacology.
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