Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive health condition that damages your kidneys. Your kidneys are two bean-shaped organs that help remove waste and excess fluid from the body.
High blood pressure and diabetes are the leading causes of CKD. Treating these conditions can help slow the progression of kidney damage. If your kidney function gets too low, you may need dialysis or a kidney transplant. Read more.
Al Brown lay in a hospital bed at the Center for Care & Discovery at the University of Chicago Medicine, in disbelief. He had contracted Covid-19 in May 2020, during the early days of the pandemic. He knew the infection was serious, but he had no idea it would ravage his heart.
Initially, the Riverdale resident thought he had the flu and found it hard to breathe. He took himself to UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey. Doctors there told him he had Covid-19. He was in the hospital for a week, hooked up to oxygen to help his breathing. Then he went back home, figuring he would recover. Read the full story.
World-leading specialist shares latest information on Covid-19 in transplant patients
On February 24th, CareDx hosted a webinar with NYU’s Dr. Dorry Segev, one of the world’s leading experts on the impact of Covid-19 on immunocompromised patients. When the pandemic hit, Dr. Segev shifted his research to better understanding vaccines in the immunocompromised, for which he has received a Letter of Commendation from Dr. Anthony Fauci. His research has been published in JAMA, and featured on CBS, NBC, NPR, and the New York Times, among other publications. In recognition of his contributions to health care, Dr. Segev was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
We adapted our webinar conversation with Dr. Segev for this article, editing only for clarity and length. Read the full article here.
DALLAS — After uncertainty a year ago from a leadership void at HHS, nephrology practices and kidney research are seeing benefits from recent legislative and regulatory victories, according to a speaker at the Renal Physicians Association Annual Meeting.
“A year ago, we were in the early days of the Biden Administration,” Robert Blaser, director of public policy for the RPA, said, here. “There was a lot of uncertainly this time last year.”
Read more.
If you need a kidney transplant, you will need to get on the national transplant waiting list for a deceased donor kidney. Learn how the waiting list works, how long people usually wait and how to choose a transplant center so you can get listed. You can take steps to stay as healthy as possible while you wait for a kidney. Learn more.
— In small study, researchers see “encouraging” survival outcomes
Select patients with unresectable colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLMs) had good survival outcomes following total hepatectomy and living-donor liver transplant (LDLT), a prospective study of 10 patients found.
In the series involving liver-confined metastatic disease in patients with a sustained response to oncologic therapy, Kaplan-Meier estimates of recurrence-free and overall survival at 1.5 years were an “encouraging” 62% and 100%, respectively, reported Gonzalo Sapisochin, MD, PhD, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues. Read more.
John “JT” Thomas was a healthy 20-year-old in 2011. But at that year’s family Thanksgiving gathering, he found that he couldn’t even finish his first plate of food. His appetite was gone — and he was increasingly lightheaded.
His physicians had a chilling response to his symptoms, one that he recalls even today: “You shouldn’t be able to walk right now.” Read the full story here.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — African-Americans and rural Americans often face barriers that keep them off organ transplant waiting lists, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
The Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. James Young and Jesse Schold were among the experts involved in drafting the recently announced recommendations. Read more.
Adults with coronary heart disease who followed a Mediterranean diet preserved their kidney function better than those who followed a low-fat diet for 5 years, according to study data published in Clinical Nutrition.
“In persons suffering from coronary heart disease and, in combination with type 2 diabetes, the long-term consumption of a Mediterranean diet would be recommended to preserve kidney function,” Jose LopezMiranda, MD, PhD, professor of internal medicine at the University of Cordoba and director of the internal medicine unit at Reina Sofia University Hospital in Spain, and Elena M. Yubero-Serrano, PhD, emerging researcher at the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba, told Healio. “Besides the pharmacological treatment for these diseases, recommendation to follow this dietary model could reduce and delay kidney complications.” Read more.
Older adults are less likely to report depressive symptoms compared with younger adults at evaluations for kidney transplants, according to data published in Kidney International Reports.
Further, investigators found patients of any age who report any degree of depressive symptoms are unlikely to achieve kidney transplant listing. Read more.