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Are Pupils the Answer to Pain Evaluation?

2024-03-28T21:00:50-04:00October 8th, 2019|Categories: eNews, Physical Health|Tags: , |

Some researchers are exploring a new method for measuring pain that involves studying the pupils of a patient. After observing an involuntary response in pupils as a result of pain or medication, a device was developed that "measures a patient’s pupillary response and, using proprietary algorithms, provides a diagnostic measurement of pain intensity, pain type and, after treatment is administered, monitors efficacy." The traditional method for measuring pain involves a 0 to 10 scale that is subjective and self-reported. This approach increases the chances for misdiagnosis, over-treatment or under-treatment since it is not objectively measured. Benefits for this new approach include [...]

NIH Seeks Volunteers to Help Cure Diseases and Solve Health Problems

2024-03-28T20:59:33-04:00February 13th, 2019|Categories: eNews|Tags: |

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is looking for volunteers to participate in the All of Us program, which is a research initiative that tracks the health of U.S. participants. The initiative is not centered around a specific disease or population. Instead, it is intended to accelerate research and improve a large assortment of health conditions by evaluating the impact of lifestyle, environment and biological makeup on health and disease. Participants may elect to help by filling out surveys, sharing electronic health records, getting a physical, sharing fitness tracker data, providing blood and urine samples, and more. The hope is that [...]

The Quest to Activate a Commonly Inactive Protective Protein

2024-03-28T21:00:23-04:00May 20th, 2018|Categories: Early Intervention, eNews, Nutrition|Tags: , |

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 [...]

Smell Loss and Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T21:01:07-04:00September 6th, 2017|Categories: eNews, Nutrition, Quality of Life|Tags: |

Our sense of smell is not only used to appreciate new blooms in Spring and the aroma of a great meal but is essential when we taste our food as well. Recently, researchers have found those with advanced kidney disease may experience a loss of smell. While the cause is unknown, researchers are looking for ways to improve the sense of smell in kidney disease patients in order to decrease rates of malnutrition. When your sense of smell is reduced, your ability to taste food is also reduced. This could lead to food aversion and eating less. As a kidney disease [...]

Decoding Diabetic Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T21:01:27-04:00February 28th, 2017|Categories: eNews, News & Events, What Causes Kidney Disease, What Is Kidney Disease|Tags: , |

A research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has revealed biological pathways involved in diabetic kidney disease. They hope that with these new pathways, early diagnostic tests and targeted treatments can be designed. According to the National Kidney Foundation, about 30 percent of patients with type 1 diabetes and 10 to 40 percent of those with type 2 diabetes will eventually have end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The study focused on the kidney’s glomerulus, which act as the key unit for blood filtration. Researchers studied three different cell types, using two sets of mice. One group naturally developed diabetic kidney [...]

Research Shows Eating More Fruits and Vegetables Cuts Kidney Patients’ Medicine Expense in Half

2024-03-28T21:01:41-04:00October 19th, 2016|Categories: Early Intervention, eNews, Lifestyle, Medication, Nutrition, What Causes Kidney Disease|Tags: , |

High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of kidney disease. When blood pressure is too high, blood vessel walls can thicken and become stiff which can also damage organs throughout the body such as the kidneys. Not only can high blood pressure damage kidneys, but kidney disease can lead to high blood pressure. If kidneys are damaged and can no longer make an enzyme known as renin, blood pressure can be elevated. With continued emphasis on managing and even preventing chronic conditions to improve overall health, research is continuing to occur to find effective interventions to treat conditions such as [...]

Acid Blockers Could Damage Kidney Function, Study Finds

2024-03-28T21:01:56-04:00July 8th, 2016|Categories: Early Intervention, eNews, Medication|Tags: , |

Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI), or medications used to treat gastric issues as heartburn and acid reflux, were prescribed to an estimated 15 million people in the United States in 2013. A recent study from the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the Veteran’s Affairs Saint Louis Health Care System and Washington University in St. Louis suggests that long-term use of these drugs could lead to chronic kidney disease. To determine the effects of PPI’s on kidney function, researchers looked at more than 173,000 new users of PPIs over a period of five years. Overtime, it was found that PPI users had [...]

Artificial kidney technology continuing to see major developmental progress

2024-03-28T21:04:47-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant|Tags: , , |

Currently, there are over 100,000 patients on the kidney transplant waiting list, while only around 17,000 patients receive a transplant every year. A device is in development by a team of scientists at Vanderbilt University in Nashville to try and eliminate this organ shortage.  They are developing an implantable artificial kidney that uses microchip filters and live kidney cells to clean the blood. The microchips are made out of the same silicon elements that are used in computers. Each microchip filter contains pores that hold living kidney cells that mimics the kidney’s function of cleaning waste and fluids from the blood. [...]

Development of Living Kidney Membrane Offers Hope to Kidney Patients

2024-03-28T21:04:50-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Treatment|Tags: , , |

Researchers at the MIRA Research Institute and the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center (RUNMC) in the Netherlands recently created a living kidney membrane. To do this, they combined kidney epithelial cells (cells made of protective tissue) with an artificial membrane. Dr. D. Stamatialis led researchers at MIRA and Dr. R. Masereeuw led researchers at RUNMC to publish their shared findings in the scientific journal Acta Biomaterialia. Their research is part of the Bioart project under the auspices of the European Union (EU) Marie Curie Initial Training Networks (ITN). The aim of the Bioart project is to develop innovative bio-artificial devices for the [...]

Kidneys That Suffered Acute Injuries May Be Good Candidates for Transplantation

2024-03-28T21:04:55-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant, What Causes Kidney Disease|Tags: , |

Studies show that kidneys from deceased donors who had acute injuries (defined as injuries with blood loss that affect the kidney, often sustained in car accidents) are frequently discarded, but could be transplanted with better results than transplants with delayed graft function. (Delayed graft function occurs when a transplanted kidney does not immediately start to function properly and may require some dialysis for a period of time.) Yale Director of Applied Translational Research Dr. Chirag Parikh and colleagues tracked kidneys from 1,632 deceased donors and, as expected, found that kidneys from patients with acute kidney injury were discarded more often. The [...]

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