Nephrology

Improving Guidelines for Pediatric Hypertension Diagnosis
Improving Guidelines for Pediatric Hypertension Diagnosis 1024 683 Natalie Wilson

It is vital to accurately recognize and diagnose hypertension in children to avoid long term morbidity and allow for appropriate treatment. A recent pilot study highlights additional diagnostic criteria for clinicians to consider. Pediatric hypertension, or high blood pressure (BP), has become increasingly common and now affects over 3% of children and adolescents. Untreated, hypertension…

Determining Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction Surgical Success Using Biomarkers
Determining Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction Surgical Success Using Biomarkers 1024 575 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Biomarkers initially found to differ among patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction and healthy controls may also objectively gauge post-surgical resolution of obstruction. A follow-up study of a trial that initially identified four biomarkers that differ between healthy controls and pediatric patients about to undergo surgery for ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) has confirmed that two of…

Improving the Care and Management of Urinary Tract Infections Through Collaboration
Improving the Care and Management of Urinary Tract Infections Through Collaboration 150 150 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM

The Urinary Tract Infection Global Alliance (UTIGA) is a new professional society that is dedicated to combatting the many challenges in UTI management and care through collaboration. With nearly 150 million people affected by urinary tract infections (UTIs) annually across the globe, UTIs are a major health problem. Both the term ‘UTI’ and the infection’s…

Preventing and Ameliorating Acute and Chronic Kidney Damage After Chemotherapy
Preventing and Ameliorating Acute and Chronic Kidney Damage After Chemotherapy 720 480 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Research looking at mitochondrial targets in kidney health holds promise for cisplatin-induced kidney injury. Recent work exploring the mitochrondrial metabolism in the kidneys following exposure to cisplatin, a common chemotherapy, has revealed a key role of superoxide (O2•-, an indicator of oxidative stress in renal cells associated with cell damage and death) in both acute…

Transforming Medical Science Through Research Affinity Groups
Transforming Medical Science Through Research Affinity Groups 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Purposeful synergy drives the most meaningful medical science. Nephrology physician-scientists require tissue samples, urologists desire tests to know which patients truly require surgery, and basic scientists must find ways to meaningfully assess new animal models to yield clinically valuable data. If each of these professionals had a defined network of colleagues from the other disciplines…

What is the Association Between Kidney Injury and Fluid Balance in Premature Newborns?
What is the Association Between Kidney Injury and Fluid Balance in Premature Newborns? 1024 575 Mary Bates, PhD
Nurse caring for infant in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

A positive fluid balance is associated with acute kidney injury and worse outcomes in a new study of premature infants. According to new research, there is an association between fluid balance and outcomes in preterm newborns, with a negative fluid balance during the first week of life emerging as a potential therapeutic target. Premature infants…

Kidney Biopsy Analysis Reveals High Risk for Disease in Patients With Sickle Cell Disease
Kidney Biopsy Analysis Reveals High Risk for Disease in Patients With Sickle Cell Disease 1024 732 Mary Bates, PhD

Patients with SCD are at high risk for significant kidney disease. A retrospective study of biopsy findings from the Pediatric Nephrology Research Consortium shows just how high. Kidney damage is a progressive complication of sickle cell disease (SCD), sometimes eventually leading to kidney failure. As the life expectancy of individuals with SCD has improved, the…

Answers to Burning Questions About Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections
Answers to Burning Questions About Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections 1024 683 Abbie Miller

Nationwide Children’s urologists and nephrologists recently co-hosted a Twitter chat for primary care providers, answering common questions about pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs). Below is a summary of the questions and answers, adapted for brevity and clarity. Q: What causes UTIs in children? A: UTIs are typically caused by uropathogenic E. coli bacteria that invade the urinary…

Nephritis Identified as High Research Priority Area For Childhood-Onset Lupus
Nephritis Identified as High Research Priority Area For Childhood-Onset Lupus 150 150 Lauren Dembeck

In an effort to establish research priorities in childhood-onset systemic erythematous lupus (cSLE), researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital partnered with the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) and Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA). Their findings are recently published in Pediatric Rheumatology. According to the results of their multidisciplinary prioritization survey of leading rheumatology, dermatology and…

Why Advocate?
Why Advocate? 1024 575 Ray Bignall

Several months ago, I had the privilege of attending a panel discussion on health in the African American community hosted by my local church. It was an opportunity for our largely African American congregation to hear from Black health professionals promoting health-seeking behavior in communities of color. Sitting in the audience, I listened as each…

In Defense Against Peritonitis, Antimicrobial Peptides May Help on Multiple Fronts
In Defense Against Peritonitis, Antimicrobial Peptides May Help on Multiple Fronts 150 150 Kevin Mayhood

Study suggests AMPs have potential as biomarkers for peritonitis, risk stratification and treatment. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the Ribonuclease A Superfamily exhibit distinct patterns when children and adults undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) suffer from peritonitis, researchers have found. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, suggest that AMPs in peritoneal fluid are potentially useful as…

Largest Study of Glomerular Diseases Sheds Light on Pediatric Subtypes
Largest Study of Glomerular Diseases Sheds Light on Pediatric Subtypes 150 150 Nationwide Children's

In one of the first papers published from the largest study of glomerular diseases, researchers have found significant differences between patients who have IgA nephropathy and a subtype of the disease, IgA vasculitis, and between children and adults with these diagnoses. The paper is from Cure Glomerulonephropathy (CureGN) — a longitudinal observational study of nearly…

Uroplakin Plaque Key to Protecting Kidney During Urinary Tract Obstruction
Uroplakin Plaque Key to Protecting Kidney During Urinary Tract Obstruction 150 150 Kevin Mayhood

Plaque appears to help remodel urothelium, allowing kidney to hold excess urine without damage, Urinary tract obstruction (UTO) is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease in children. But the extent of damage caused by obstruction differs from child to child. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital studying why suggest that uroplakin…

Could Antimicrobial Peptides Be Biomarkers for Obstructive Uropathy?
Could Antimicrobial Peptides Be Biomarkers for Obstructive Uropathy? 1024 683 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

New research reveals the expression of antimicrobial peptides — long associated only with infections — in children with obstructive uropathy, creating the potential for a wide range of clinical applications. Previously only studied in the context of urinary tract and other infections, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) — naturally occurring antibiotic molecules that our bodies may use…

Is Whole Exome Sequencing the Future of Kidney Stone Management?
Is Whole Exome Sequencing the Future of Kidney Stone Management? 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

The first use of whole exome sequencing for monogenic causes of kidney stone disease reveals the diagnostic tool is ripe for clinical application. In the first-ever study of whole exome sequencing for early-onset kidney stone disease, an international team of researchers led by clinician-scientists at Boston Children’s Hospital expanded on their prior finding that many…

Why Patients With Diabetes Have More UTIs
Why Patients With Diabetes Have More UTIs 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD

Insulin regulates an antimicrobial peptide that is suppressed in patients with diabetes. A recent study led by clinicians and researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital reports a potential explanation for why urinary tract infections (UTIs) are so common in patients with diabetes – insulin regulates an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) that is suppressed in those patients. Patients…

Childhood Kidney Stones: Their Surprising Connection to Future Disease
Childhood Kidney Stones: Their Surprising Connection to Future Disease 150 150 Jeb Phillips

Once thought to be an adult condition, urinary stone disease is increasingly found in children – and may be related to the development of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and low bone density. By one well-regarded estimate, the risk of developing urinary stone disease in childhood doubled between 1997 and 2012. That’s worrying enough on…

Predicting Risk for Chronic Renal Disease in Children
Predicting Risk for Chronic Renal Disease in Children 150 150 Kevin Mayhood

Studies using a new contrast agent have the potential to determine if infants born premature develop a full complement of nephrons. A new magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent enables researchers to see the number and volume of blood-filtering nephrons in rodent kidneys and donated human adult kidneys, potentially offering a way to diagnose chronic renal disease far earlier than current…

Childhood Kidney Stones Associated With Atherosclerosis
Childhood Kidney Stones Associated With Atherosclerosis 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Research could lead to early interventions to improve cardiovascular health. Kidney stones in children are increasingly common, and until recently were believed to be an isolated medical problem. But a study conducted by clinician-scientists at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has identified for the first time a significant association between kidney stones and atherosclerosis in children. Previous…

A Shift in the Antibiotic Prophylaxis Debate?
A Shift in the Antibiotic Prophylaxis Debate? 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

The RIVUR trial laid to rest certain questions surrounding antimicrobial prophylaxis in children with vesicoureteral reflux. But it also launched a new debate. The Randomized Intervention for Children with Vesicoureteral Reflux (RIVUR) trialwas supposed to provide clear direction for pediatric urologists. To date, it is the largest double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, multicenter study examining urinary tract infection…

Body, Heal Thyself: Harnessing Our Innate Immunity
Body, Heal Thyself: Harnessing Our Innate Immunity 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

What the urinary tract’s front-line defenses can teach us about our innate ability to self-heal …. and thwart antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is on the rise, health care-acquired infections are becoming harder to treat and even simple infectious illnesses account for billions of dollars per year in spending in the United States alone. As with…

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