New Therapeutic Strategy for Toxic Proteinopathies

illustration of a small moleculeA 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.

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Acute Kidney Injury Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

acute kidney injury

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.

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Interventional Nephrology Service Speeds and Improves Care for Dialysis Patients

person receiving dialysis

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.

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Combination Gene Therapy Holds Promise for Treating Multiple Common Diseases

image of human heart and valves

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.

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The Genie Study Explores Effects of Diet on Steroid-Resistant FSGS

a medical professional takes a young man's blood pressureIt 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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Are Dialysis’s Days Numbered?

Human kidney cross section on scientific backgroundIn 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.

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Improving Care for Medicare Dialysis Patients at End of Life

A female nurse consoles a senior patient at homeEnd-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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The Measure of a Molecule: Studying the KIM-1 Biomarker

Magnifying glass on antique anatomy book: KidneyIn the search of a practical screening method for early-stage renal cell cancer (RCC), researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have been studying the potential of kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1). Their latest research was published in Clinical Cancer Research and represents the first time that KIM-1 was assessed in pre-diagnostic samples.
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New EHR Tool Helps Predict Risk of Kidney Failure

A new electronic health record (EHR) tool could help physicians quickly and accurately flag patients that should be referred to a nephrologist based on indicators that may signal the risk of kidney failure. Designed by Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) investigators, this tool draws upon recent research that has identified several tests that can be used to calculate an individual’s risk score. Now, an automatic calculator can be built into EHRs and displayed prominently for a physician to see when they open a patient’s record. The paper detailing the design and implementation of the application appeared online in the July 2017, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Read More