News & Events
Discover new information and educational offerings that we provide. Explore our newsletters, blogs and upcoming webinars/conference calls.
Contents:
Understanding and Managing Chronic Pain Recording and Slides
If you were unable to attend last month's education seminar, the recording is now available! Please see the video below for details. In addition, download the slides. We want to keep getting better. Please help us by sharing your comments and suggestions here: Webinar Review In some studies, over 70% of people with CKD report chronic pain. If you are one of the 70%, or if you take care of them, this program will give you medical and non-medical ways to understand, reduce, and manage chronic pain. You may not eliminate it completely, but you can make pain a much smaller part of your life!
Researchers and Journalists Call Out Poorly Performing Organ Procurement Organizations
Recent research and journalism has highlighted significant variations in the ability of regional Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) to obtain donor organs for transplants. An analysis by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania rated 35 of 58 OPOs, and identified the best performers among them the OPOs serving Utah and Southern Idaho; Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware; the Finger Lakes region of New York; Wisconsin; and Nebraska. The poorest performing were those serving the New York City region; Southern California; Kentucky; and North Carolina. The New York City OPO’s poor performance was highlighted in a New York Times article last week. Three Main Entities for Successful Organ Transplantation The Penn researchers note that “Aside from the [...]
Flu Risk Still High, Take Steps to Be Protected
Flu season doesn’t officially end until May, and typically we see the flu “peak” around this time. However, this year the virus is especially harmful and active with cases still increasing. If you haven’t already received a flu vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends you still get immunized to decrease your chances of becoming infected with this year’s virus. As kidney disease patients, you are especially susceptible to catching the flu. It is important to take precautionary steps to prevent infection. Learn more about this year’s virus and information on the vaccine by visiting the CDC’s flu hub: www.cdc.gov/flu People at High Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications Children younger than 5, but especially younger [...]
Tips for Taking Medication
An important part of treatment is taking your medication daily and as required. Even though you might not feel any difference from skipping a medication, it will still affect your body and may create additional long-term problems. Understanding kidney disease, why you are taking each medication and what the medication does will keep you motivated to follow your medication schedule. In addition to your medical team, the pharmacist who fills your prescriptions will be able to help you understand your medications, when to take them, and can provide reminder tips. The pharmacist may also be able to tell you which foods could interact with different food. You also will need to learn: 1) how to [...]
The Quest to Activate a Commonly Inactive Protective Protein
New research sponsored by the American Heart Association found high levels of a protective protein, albeit an inactive version of the protein, in the blood of African-Americans on dialysis. Matrix Gla protein, or MGP, has high affinity binding to calcium ions and therefore inhibiting vascular calcification. Researchers believe finding ways to activate this protein can lead to lower rates of vascular disease in current dialysis patients. MGP is activated by vitamin K and appears to be the only natural inhibitor of vascular calcification while vitamin K is the only known activator of MGP. Active MGP binds to calcium that circulates in the blood preventing it from lining blood vessel walls. Investigators measured MGP levels in [...]
The Sweetest Taboo
By Charissa Rice Shhh…not so loud. This is a topic or subject that not too many want to talk about. That’s funny because most of us spend a lifetime trying to do it. So why is sex and anything pertaining to it so taboo? I guess as a patient with a chronic illness that should be the last thing on my mind. I can remember when visiting my many doctors, hearing them discuss different symptoms and what I might expect with my many illnesses. I have lupus and also kidney failure. There are a lot of things that can cause my libido to be depleted, but it was really never brought up. I learned the [...]
The Kidney Citizen Issue 8
In this Issue: Dialysis Patients Secure Access to Life Saving Care Why Advocate? Going Home Beginning the Dialysis Adventure Staying Safe from Violence at Dialysis Finding Answers Through Research Living Well on Dialysis When a Kidney Transplant Fails Choosing a Partner with Kidney Disease The Sweetest Taboo Put Out the Fire! Simple Strategies to Reduce Chronic Inflammation Download PDF President's Message Dear friends, As I watch the change of seasons from winter to spring, I also see some exciting things in store for our membership. We still have our two Facebook pages, one for DPC and one for the DPC Education Center. We hope you follow both! [...]
National Healthcare Decision Day
A medical crisis, a severe accident, or an incapacitating illness can happen at any time, at any age, to any person. Do you know what kind of medical treatment you want if you can no longer make your own decisions or tell others what you want? Does your family know? Does your doctor and healthcare team know? We are encouraged to use the week of Monday, April 16th as the starting point to make plans about what healthcare decisions we want for our future medical care and treatment if we can no longer speak for ourselves. Besides knowing what choices we want made, who do we want to speak for us and carry out our [...]
Advocacy 101 Recording Now Available!
If you were unable to attend our first education seminar of 2018, the recording is now available! Hear from DPC's congressional relations director, Megan Beveridge and DPC Board Member Mike Guffey discuss the patient perspective and Congressional perspective on the importance of advocacy and sharing your story. After viewing the recording, please take a brief survey so we can continue to improve our educational programming. Call Evaluation
