Earlier News Stories on Dialysis

Dialysis News from July 2008 and earlier

New kidney test for indigenous Australians

Researchers in Darwin hope a new study will improve the early detection test for kidney disease among Indigenous Australians (19 July 2008). They say the current test can be inaccurate for Indigenous Australians because it's based on the body shapes of Americans. Per head of population the Northern Territory has the highest rate of kidney disease in the world and the researchers say improved early detection could ease the strain on the health system. More details here.

Combo Therapy Makes More Kidney Transplants Possible

We've found this news in several places, including The Washington Post and Rueters, saying that a new combination therapy of combined IVIG and Rituxan (rituximab), a monoclonal antibody, in sensitized patients increases the chance of receiving a successful kidney transplant. (16 July, 2008)

Kidney disease linked to lower medication use after heart attack

From Sciencecentric, (12th July 2008). Patients with kidney disease - especially end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis - are less likely to receive recommended medications after a heart attack, reports a study in the September 2008 Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). Patients with and without kidney disease were compared for use of medications recommended after myocardial infarction - Overall rates of medication use were low.

Agressive diabetes treatment can reduce chance of kidney failure

Another news item (29 June 2008) that is appearing on many health sites reports that treating diabetes more aggressively than normal can result in a much lower kidney failure rate, and thus less chance of a diabetic needing dialysis treatment. The aim is to reduce the blood sugar levels more than normal treatment does, and after studying over 11,000 patients, the results are very encouraging.

Careful cooking of potatoes reduces the potassium content

Kidney failure patients have to carefully control what they eat to keep their mineral levels at the correct sort of values. The potassium content of potatoes, as well as other minerals, can be reduced significantly by preparing them in a different mannner, accoriding to this research report (2 June 2007). Finely sliced or chopped potatoes can have the minerals leached out into the water, making them much more suitable for kidney failure patients.

More Frequent Dialysis Not Better in Acute Kidney Injury

We found this reported on many news sites recently (20th May 2008) where recent research shows that more intense dialysis does not improve things when the kidney is injured, contrary to general belief. A month after we first reported this news item, it is still appearing in news reports.

Vitamin D May Lower Mortality in Kidney Patients

More research news hits the headlines on 16th May, 2008. The study reports that, for those with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, taking activated vitamin d orally in the form of calcitriol lowered the risk of death by 26% compared to those not taking the drug. and reduced the probability that they would eventually need dialysis. This was a two year trial involving 1400 patients, and with this amount of work, it seems likely to be good news for many people.

New Study into Kidney Problems in Children

Reported here and elsewhere (17 April 2008), a study sponsored by Children's Mercy Hospital has found that youngsters with kidney problems often have high blood pressure when young. The research has already resulted in development of a new test to precisely measure kidney function. The test takes five hours so it can't be widely used, but it should lead to better tests. The National Institutes of Health recently decided to fund the research for another five years.

AMAG's Iron Drug Controversy

Contraversy surrounds a new iron based drug (ferumoxytol) for kidney patients with iron-deficient anemia, according to this report. (15 April 2008)

Plea for more Peritoneal Dialysis

The Scotsman (24th March 2008) has run this feature pointing out how few Scots on dialysis are receiving Peritoneal Dialysis - out of 2146 patients, a mere 406 were being treated by Peritoneal Dialysis. About 1000 would have been expected to be on Peritoneal Dialysis, but apparently few are offered this treatment, forcing regular hospital visits for hemodialysis instead.

Herapin recall due to possible allergic reactions

This article is by an American law firm (possibly hoping to attract clients for a case), and covers the recall of herapin by a major manufacturer. The herapin in question appears to be from a Chinese factory, and the report mentions countries other than America taking action. (March 2008)

Amazing gift of life by two strangers

The generosity of some people is so astounding at times! Gail Fink was given a kidney for a transplant by a complete stranger. Then two years later the stranger's wife acted as a surrogate mother so she could have children as well. Read the story here (20th March 2008).

Professor develops ‘wearable kidney’

Victor Gura of XCorporeal aims to improve patients' quality of life with a portable blood-filtering device (10th March, 2008). Gura’s invention is essentially hemodialysis that can be done at home, like peritoneal dialysis, according to the above report. Gura said. “You can put it on your body and walk around with it.” Gura, who has been working on this project since 2001, said a prototype has been built and is currently undergoing human trials. “We’re still a couple years from production,” he said. Though the device could help many lives, some have doubts over its feasibility. (And we didn't think it looked particularly portable from the picture we saw.)

Many unaware of kidney disease

According to a recent news item from Ireland (29th March, 2008), although about 180,000 Irish people have some significant kidney problems, many are unaware of their condition. A 'Know your kidney' campaign could help raise awareness of the possible problems among the general public. However as this could increase dramatically the number of patients on dialysis, it might stretch the health service to its limits.

Top american jockey in kidney drama

We found this story (26th Feb, 2008) totally by accident, but it shows that kidney problems can hit anyone. Randy Romero, one of the US's greatest jockeys and a US Hall of Fame nominee, with nearly 4,300 wins and earnings of over $75 million (although he is now retired), recently had a kidney removed and continues to battle chronic liver disease while hospitalized in Baptist East Hospital in Louisville. Romero has undergone dialysis treatments three times a week for several years now.

Black men most at risk for kidney disease complications.

A report at US News (4th Feb 2008) said that, among Americans with both kidney disease and high blood pressure, it was black males who were most likely to have bloods pressure problems. This puts them at risk of other life threatening complications. Controlling hypertension may play a major role in slowing the progression of kidney disease.

Art brightens up kidney dialysis

Or so says a report on the BBC news site (30th Jan 2008). Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock introduced the unique scheme to brighten up the mundane hours patients spend hooked up to dialysis machines. Some patients learned to paint lef- handed, and the act of painting relieves the depression some experience while stuck there with nothing productive to do.

New UK dialysis centre

Sussex and Essex Online reports (2nd Feb 2008) the refurbishment of a hospital and the opening of a new £200,000 dialysis unit. This was all achieved by public donations. Well done!

Possible cause of kidney failure

Recent research reported by Washington University (28th Jan 2008) suggests that when the kidneys fail to clean their filters properly, this can lead to kidney disease.

Fresenius Medical Wins U.K. Dialysis Contract

Fresenius, a German company and the largest provider of dialyis, has just won a contract to provide dialyis to a large number of patients in northern England, in a UK government contract (11th Jan 2008).

Link between kidney function and bone health

Summarising research at Washington University, this report shows how kidney problems impact on bone and in turn how this puts a strain on the heart.