Latest Clinical & Research News
Specialty: Nephrology
At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, nephrologists have observed an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in COVID-19 patients. Within the intensive care units (ICUs) at the Brigham, about 15 to 20 percent of COVID-19 patients have developed AKI. In some hospitals, the incidence of AKI has been reported to be as high as 25 percent.
The once-long road to developing a viable alternative to kidney dialysis has become a little shorter thanks to strides made by a unique public-private partnership.
A small molecule discovered by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital may hold promise for treating mucin-1 kidney disease (MKD) as well as other toxic proteinopathies of the brain, eye, lungs and liver. These diseases are driven by genetic mutations that result in misfolded, “toxic” proteins that in turn become trapped and accumulated in cells.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have identified several links between the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs) and acute kidney injury (AKI). The risk factors, clinicopathologic features, treatment and long-term outcomes in patients with ICPI-associated AKI, as well as the risk of recurrent AKI with ICPI rechallenge, are detailed in a multicenter study recently published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. These newly identified links will help guide oncologists in treating patients with ICPIs.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital has been on the forefront of nephrology for decades: in 1954, the hospital was the site of the first successful living-donor kidney transplant. Today, the Brigham continues its legacy of innovation in kidney dialysis research and care through its Interventional Nephrology service at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, one of the few programs of its kind in the country.
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital are collaborating with colleagues at Harvard Medical School to examine the use of gene therapy for treating four age-related diseases: obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart failure and kidney failure.
It can be challenging to assess the effects of dietary changes on a disease, especially when those changes involve eliminating common, often beloved foods from a child’s diet. However, Leonardo D. Riella, MD, PhD, FASN, associate director of kidney transplantation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, found a way to make the elimination process both effective from a research perspective and fun for a group of young kidney disease patients.
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Study identifies key factor leading to cell cycle arrest and a cellular structure that is key for kidney fibrosis progression.
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In the 1960s, Brigham and Women’s Hospital pioneered the development and commercialization of dialysis. Once again, the Brigham is on the forefront of renal replacement therapy (RRT) through a new project spearheaded by the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI), a public-private partnership between the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, patients, academia and industry to identify and create solutions for vexing problems in kidney disease.
End-stage kidney disease patients on dialysis need to continue dialysis to stay alive. To reduce the pain and common worries in their final phase of life, they also need access to hospice care. Unfortunately, Medicare patients with end-stage kidney disease often can’t have both.
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