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Routine Kidney Disease Screening Not Worthwhile, Experts Say
Posted 30 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 30 – As many as one in 10 Americans have chronic kidney disease, but most don't know it and for most it is not a problem, experts say. However, there has been debate about whether healthy people should be screened for the condition. Now, a statement released Monday by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) says no. "The evidence is insufficient to make a definitive recommendation about whether or not it's effective to screen healthy people for chronic kidney disease," said committee chairwoman Dr. Joy Melnikow, director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research at the University of California, Davis. "I was surprised how little evidence there was about screening healthy people." There were no studies of the effectiveness of the blood or urine tests for creatinine, a marker of kidney function, in identifying who has chronic kidney disease, Melnikow said. ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease
Role of Screening, Monitoring in Early Kidney Disease Unclear
Posted 17 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 17 – At least one in 10 U.S. adults is estimated to have chronic kidney disease, but whether screening and monitoring people in the earlier stages of the disease provides a benefit just isn't clear, a new review of the available clinical trials revealed. The finding doesn't necessarily mean that early screening or monitoring of kidney disease isn't helpful, it just shows no clear evidence to prove that it is. "We didn't find direct evidence for benefits or harms. There were no randomized controlled trials for screening or monitoring," said the study's lead author, Dr. Howard Fink, a staff physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minn. But, when the reviewers looked at the treatment options available to people with early-stage chronic kidney disease, they found evidence that two types of blood pressure-lowering medication reduced progression to ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease
Weight-Loss Surgery Seems Safe for Kidney Disease Patients
Posted 1 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 1 – Obese chronic kidney disease patients who undergo surgery to achieve weight loss do not face a particularly dangerous rate of complications as a result, a new study suggests. Although the research team cautioned that more work needs to be done to establish to what degree the benefits of the weight-loss surgery – called "bariatric surgery" – actually outweigh the risks among this population, the investigators found that roughly 5 percent to 10 percent of such patients experienced complications. The upside of such an intervention could be tremendous, the researchers noted, as obesity can be an impediment to a patient's ability to undergo a lifesaving kidney transplant. "This work provides strong evidence that it is safe to proceed with bariatric surgery in kidney failure patients who suffer from obesity," study co-lead author Dr. John Sweeney, from the Emory ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Chronic Kidney Disease
Dieting Can Prove Dangerous for Kidney Disease Patients
Posted 24 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 24 – Overweight or obese people with chronic kidney disease may suffer further kidney damage if they use certain weight-loss methods, a new study warns. Cleveland Clinic researchers analyzed the eating and lifestyle habits of nearly 11,000 overweight or obese adults who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Of those with chronic kidney disease, 50 percent said they had tried to lose weight in the past year, and 8 percent said they used medications as part of their weight-loss program. Some also used weight-loss methods that promoted high-protein diets that called for up to 1.9 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, considerably more than the amount recommended by the National Kidney Foundation. Patients with chronic kidney disease are advised to consume 0.6 grams to 0.75 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. The typical ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease
Vitamin D May Not Boost Heart Health in Kidney Patients
Posted 14 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 14 – Vitamin D therapy does not improve heart health in people with chronic kidney disease, a new study indicates. Treatment with vitamin D is primarily recommended for improving bone health but it has been suggested for other conditions, including cardiovascular disease. However, there is a lack of convincing data showing that vitamin D improves cardiovascular health, according to background information in the study. Observational studies have reported associations between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of cardiovascular events in chronic kidney disease patients, noted Dr. Ravi Thadhani, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues. To investigate the effects of vitamin D therapy, the researchers conducted a clinical trial involving 227 kidney patients with mild to moderate left ventricular hypertrophy – a heart condition related to enlargement ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease, Zemplar, Paricalcitol
Two-Day Dialysis Interval Could Pose Danger: Study
Posted 21 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 – Waiting more than a day between dialysis treatments ups the risk of death and hospitalization in people with kidney disease, new research suggests. Patients are more likely to die or head to the hospital for cardiovascular-related and other complications following a two-day interval between dialysis sessions compared to a one-day gap, concluded researchers from the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) and the University of Minnesota, both in Minneapolis. "It shows an association between adverse outcomes and a two-day interval between dialysis sessions," said study author Dr. Robert Foley, deputy director of the USRDS Coordinating Center, whose observational study involved more than 32,000 people on hemodialysis. Hemodialysis is the more common form of dialysis in the United States, said Dr. Martin Zand, a professor of medicine in the division of nephrology at the ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease, Hemodialysis
Research Reveals Why Blacks More Prone to Kidney Failure
Posted 1 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Sept. 1 – Black Americans are more likely than whites to have a condition in which the kidneys spill protein into the urine, which may help explain why blacks are four times more likely than whites to develop kidney failure, a new study suggests. Emory University researchers analyzed data from about 28,00 people (40.5 percent blacks, 59.5 percent whites) in the United States and found that 133 of them developed kidney failure after an average follow-up of 3.6 years. There were 96 cases of kidney failure among blacks and 37 cases among whites. Kidney failure was more common among people who excreted large amounts of protein in their urine, and blacks were more likely than whites to have this problem. The researchers suggested a number of reasons why blacks are more likely to excrete more protein in their urine, including: blood pressure and other heart-related issues; smoking, ... Read more
Related support groups: Renal Failure, Chronic Kidney Disease
Dialysis Patients Unprepared for Disasters, Study Contends
Posted 25 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 25 – In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, such as a tornado, earthquake or fire, most dialysis patients don't have a plan to get the medical assistance they need, according to a new study. Although these kidney-disease patients rely on technology and dialysis clinics to survive, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine found that many don't know the address of a backup center. This lack of preparation could seriously endanger the patients' health, the researchers said. "A dialysis patient relies on frequent visits to a dialysis facility to maintain his or her health, and when patients cannot receive dialysis due to lack of clean water, lack of electricity, impassable roadways, etc., severe medical complications can occur quite quickly," Mark Foster, a student at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said in a ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease, Hemodialysis, Peritoneal dialysis
Metabolic Syndrome Linked to Kidney Disease
Posted 19 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Aug. 19 – People with metabolic syndrome are at increased risk for kidney disease, a new study suggests. Metabolic syndrome refers to the presence of three or more of the following health threats: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low good cholesterol, excess fat in the waist/abdomen, and elevated levels of fatty acids. It was known that people with metabolic syndrome are at increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke and premature death. This study adds kidney disease to that list. Researchers analyzed data from more than 30,000 people in 11 studies that examined the relationship between metabolic syndrome and kidney disease. The review revealed that people with metabolic syndrome have a 55 percent increased risk of kidney problems, especially reduced kidney function, which is indicative of kidney disease. The researchers also found that individual characteristics ... Read more
Related support groups: Insulin Resistance, Chronic Kidney Disease
Children With Kidney Disease Face Many Health Woes
Posted 17 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 17 – Poor growth, heart problems and delays in puberty are among the problems experienced by children with mild to moderately impaired kidney function, new research says. The study of 586 children with chronic kidney disease also found that even when some of them took medications to treat these health problems, including high blood pressure and metabolic issues, the conditions became more common as kidney function decreased. The study appears online in the August issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. "We were hoping to identify risk factors for CKD progression and see if these can be targeted to slow the decline of kidney function and prevent its complications," study author Dr. Susan Furth, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a journal news release. "Our findings suggest that more aggressive interventions to improve blood ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease
Stem Cell Therapy Holds Promise for Kidney Disease
Posted 4 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 4 – Researchers may be one step closer to harnessing the power of stem cells to help treat, and potentially cure, kidney disease. Two new studies, both published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, demonstrate that kidney cells can be reprogrammed to morph into other types of kidney cells needed to repair damage. In one report, scientists out of Monash University in Australia extracted kidney cells and reprogrammed them so they could behave like other kidney cells. In a second related study, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou, China, collected kidney cells from urine and were also able to reprogram them. The next step is to see if the cell lines – called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) – can be expanded, and then injected back into people with kidney disease to develop functional tissue and/or organs. ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease
Health Tip: Living With Chronic Kidney Disease
Posted 4 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
-- Chronic kidney disease often requires making changes to your diet, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says. The agency mentions these examples, which you should first discuss with your doctor: Restricting fluids. Limiting proteins. Restricting potassium, phosphorous, salt and other electrolytes. If you are losing weight, increasing caloric intake. Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease
As Waistline Expands, So Does Death Risk for Kidney Patients
Posted 19 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, July 19 – A large waist size is unhealthy for anyone, but for kidney disease patients, those extra pounds around the middle may double the risk of dying, a new study reports. The study doesn't prove that having a big waist caused patients to die, but it suggests there may be a link. In their research, investigators examined the medical records of more than 5,800 adults aged 45 and older who had kidney disease. The patients were tracked for a median of four years. Just under 12 percent – 686 patients – died during that time. The average body-mass index (BMI) of those who died was 29.2, slightly lower than that of those who survived (30.3), the study authors reported. BMI is a measurement that takes into account height and weight. People with BMIs in the range of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight, while those in the range of 30 and higher are obese. The investigators found ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease
FDA Urges Reduced Doses for Anemia Drugs
Posted 25 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, June 24 – Doctors should use the anemia drugs Procrit, Epogen and Aranesp more cautiously in patients with chronic kidney disease, U.S. health officials said Friday. The new warning comes in response to data showing that patients on these drugs face a higher risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, blood clots and death, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. "FDA is recommending new, more conservative dosing recommendations for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents [ESAs] for patients with chronic kidney disease," Dr. Robert C. Kane, acting deputy director for safety in the division of hematology products, said during a news conference Friday. These recommendations are being added to the drug label's black box warning and sections of the package inserts, he said. This is not the first time health risks have been linked to these anemia ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease, Aranesp, Epogen, Procrit, Darbepoetin Alfa, Epoetin Alfa
Hormone Linked to Death Risk in Those With Early Kidney Disease
Posted 14 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, June 14 – Patients with early-stage chronic kidney disease are more likely to die if they have elevated levels of a certain hormone, a new study says. Endocrine hormone fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) regulates phosphorus metabolism. It was known that levels of FGF-23 increase as kidney function declines and that high levels of the hormone are associated with increased risk of death in patients with kidney failure. But little was known about how elevated levels of FGF-23 affect outcomes of patients with early-stage chronic kidney disease. This study looked at 3,879 patients with early-stage chronic kidney disease. During a median follow-up of 3.5 years, 266 of the patients died and 410 progressed to kidney failure. The researchers found that median FGF-23 levels were higher in these patients than in those who remained "event-free." Patients with the highest levels of ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Kidney Disease