chronic kidney disease tagged posts

Study shows Glucagon is Key for Kidney Health

Glucagon, a hormone best known for promoting blood sugar production in the liver, also appears to play a key role in maintaining kidney health. When UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers removed receptors for this hormone from mouse kidneys, the animals developed symptoms akin to chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Their findings, published in Cell Metabolism, shed new light on glucagon’s physiological functions and provide new insights into CKD, a disease that affects hundreds of millions of people around the globe, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

“Our study defines important protective effects of glucagon for kidney health and normal systemic metabolic well-being of the entire organism,” said study leader Philipp Scherer, Ph.D...

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The Enzyme that could help Curb Chronic Kidney Disease

kidney
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

University of South Australia researchers have identified an enzyme that may help to curb chronic kidney disease, which affects approximately 700 million people worldwide.

This enzyme, NEDD4-2, is critical for kidney health, says UniSA Centre for Cancer Biology scientist Dr Jantina Manning in a new paper published this month in Cell Death & Disease.

The early career researcher and her colleagues, including 2020 SA Scientist of the Year Professor Sharad Kumar, have shown in an animal study the correlation between a high salt diet, low levels of NEDD4-2 and advanced kidney disease.

While a high salt diet can exacerbate some forms of kidney disease, until now, researchers did not realise that NEDD4-2 plays a role in promoting this salt-induced k...

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A New Substance Prevents Vascular Calcification

heating elements covered in limescale
Just as heating elements become covered in limescale, some diseases cause calcification in the soft tissues of the body. (Photograph: Shutterstock)

Researchers at ETH Zurich and ETH spin-off Inositec have developed a new substance to prevent vascular calcification, which affects many patients suffering from chronic kidney disease. As their metabolism is impaired, calcium salts may deposit in soft tissues, such as blood vessels or even the heart valves, causing them to stiffen. This often leads to severe, potentially fatal cardiovascular diseases. However, before patients can benefit from the substance further research and tests must be carried out.

“Calcification occurs when calcium phosphate crystals are deposited in tissue,” explains Jean-Christophe Leroux, Professor of Drug For...

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Why Polluted Air may be a Threat to your Kidneys

. U.S. county distributions.  a: Proportion of Medicare Sample with Diagnosed CKD by County, b: Average PM2.5 (μg/m3) by County, Non-shaded counties had missing information and were not used in the analysis.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200612.g002

U.S. county distributions.
a: Proportion of Medicare Sample with Diagnosed CKD by County, b: Average PM2.5 (μg/m3) by County, Non-shaded counties had missing information and were not used in the analysis.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200612.g002

There is good evidence that polluted air increases the risk of respiratory problems such as asthma – as well as organ inflammation, worsening of diabetes and other life-threatening conditions. But new research suggests air pollution can also fuel something else: chronic kidney disease, or CKD, which occurs when a person’s kidneys become damaged or cannot filter blood properly.

Recently published in PLOS ONE, a University of Michigan study highlights the lesser-known connection...

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