Latest Clinical & Research News
Specialty: Nephrology
Infection with SARS-CoV-2 can affect any organ system in the body, and acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in people with more severe cases of COVID-19. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital recently led a study that looked at critically ill patients with COVID-19 and identified both patient- and hospital-level risk factors for development of AKI treated with dialysis.
An equation used for over a decade to estimate kidney function and stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) can underestimate kidney function and lead to gaps in care delivery in African-American patients, according to research led by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital led the first study that offers national data on the factors that may increase the risk of complications or death in critically ill COVID-19 patients. David E. Leaf, MD, MMSc and Shruti Gupta, MD, MPH, physicians in the Brigham’s Division of Renal Medicine, led a team of more than 300 investigators from over 65 hospitals across the U.S. to examine the demographics, comorbidities, organ dysfunction, treatment and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Read More
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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