There are more than 78,000 Americans waiting for a kidney transplant, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Worse, the gap between the number of patients waiting and the number of kidney transplants performed has grown by 110% in the last decade.
Cutting the lengthy wait for a kidney will take more than innovative changes in medical practice, according to the National Kidney Foundation. As part of a new initiative unveiled in late January, Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON (AP) — A longtime friend has been reveled as the kidney donor for former mayor Marion Barry, said a spokeswoman for the D.C. Council member.
Ward 6 resident Kim Dickens is the donor, according to Barry spokeswoman Natalie Williams.
Dickens offered Barry her kidney after he discussed his health issues with her and other friends during his re-election bid last fall, said Williams.
Dickens and several other willing donors were tested, Read the rest of this entry »

THE QUESTION: Might eating fish help prevent kidney disease in people with diabetes?
THIS STUDY analyzed data on 22,384 people (39 to 79 years old); 517 of them had diabetes. Testing revealed the level of the protein albumin in their urine, considered an early sign of kidney disease. People with diabetes who reported eating less than one serving of fish a week were four times more likely to have excessive protein levels (called persistent albuminuria) Read the rest of this entry »

Dickens offered Barry her kidney after he discussed his health issues with her and other friends during his reelection bid in the fall. Dickens, along with about four others, got tested to see if they could be donors, said Barry’s spokeswoman, Natalie Williams. After learning that she was a match, Dickens broke down in tears and called Barry to tell him that she could give him a kidney, Williams said.
Doctors said this morning that both Barry and Read the rest of this entry »

“He’s doing very well,” said Clive O. Callender, who performed a kidney transplant on the former mayor Friday.
Barry may be discharged from Howard University Hospital as early as Thursday, said Ron Harris, a hospital spokesman. Barry’s donor, Kim Dickens, 47, also remains in recovery, Harris said.
Barry had been on dialysis for several months after hypertension and diabetes wore down his kidneys, he has said. A spokeswoman for Barry, Natalie Williams, Read the rest of this entry »

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) exacts a significant toll on a woman’s sexuality and gynecologic health. The various effects of kidney failure and its treatments on women’s sexual health from adolescence through menopause was the topic of an in-depth series of presentations at the American Society of Nephrology’s 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Women whose kidneys are failing experience hormonal changes Read the rest of this entry »

But the need is growing dramatically because of sharp increases in diabetes and high blood pressure, the most common causes of kidney failure.
The National Kidney Foundation estimates that there are 350,000 Americans suffering from end-stage kidney disease, with about 67,000 dying each year without even making it onto the waiting list for transplants. That list currently sits at 78,210, according to UNOS, and the wait for a donor is about five Read the rest of this entry »

February 18, 2009 10:36 pm
KEEP the morning of Feb. 28 open for a free health screening targeted to those at risk for kidney disease. High risk means you or a first-degree relative has diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney disease. First-degree relatives are parents, grandparents and siblings.
The screening is part of the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP), which is designed to identify Read the rest of this entry »

ZURICH — Novartis AG said Tuesday its experimental drug Afinitor has been granted priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval as treatment for advanced kidney cancer, paving the way for possible approval early next year.
“We are expecting a decision from the FDA by the end of 2008, which would allow us to launch early next year,” David Epstein, head of oncology at Novartis, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Analysts are expecting Read the rest of this entry »

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Drugs to clear the bowels before a
colonoscopy may harm the kidneys, according to U.S. regulators,
who ordered new warnings on prescription versions of the products
made by
Oral sodium phosphate drugs, sold with and without a
prescription, have been associated with acute phosphate
nephropathy, the kidney injury, the Food and Drug Administration
said today on its
site. Non-prescription treatments, such as
Fleet Phospho-soda, Read the rest of this entry »