These publications highlight key studies in clinical research, advances in dialysis care, new therapies, outcomes, and disease prevention. Specific themes or trends in clinical practice, research, innovation, and patient care are advanced through various findings and points of view. These studies are especially important to practitioners who are working to improve kidney health and fight diseases.
Immune Responses in Dialysis Patients after COVID-19 Infection and Vaccination: Researchers have assessed cellular and humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 reference, alpha, and beta variants of concern (VOCs) in 18 mild/moderate COVID-19 convalescent patients on dialysis. The findings are published in Kidney International.
Trajectory of Acute Kidney Injury in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: In an analysis of information on 184,297 pediatric inpatients at a single center from 2011 to 2019 who were not on maintenance renal replacement therapy and had at least one serum creatinine obtained during hospital admission, acute kidney injury (AKI) occurred in 5.6% of patients. The results are published in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation.
REST and Stress Resistance in the Aging Kidney: Researchers have identified the RE1-silencing transcription factor (REST), a repressor of neuronal genes during embryonic development, as a key player in nephron adaptation to aging. The findings, published in JASN, suggest that REST protects the kidney from injury and degeneration during aging.
Aquaporin 2 Regulation in Water Balance and Polycystic Kidney Diseases: The presence of the collecting duct water channel aquaporin 2 (AQP2) at the plasma membrane is essential for maintaining water balance. In a review published in Nature Reviews Nephrology, investigators highlight advances in the field of AQP2 regulation that might be exploited for the treatment of water balance disorders.
Adynamic Bone Disease in Patients with Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease: Adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience an elevated fracture risk due to impaired bone quality and quantity. A review published in Kidney International examines adynamic bone disease, which occurs with absent or reduced turnover in the presence of normal mineralization, in patients with advanced CKD.
Study Compares Different Antiplatelet Drugs in Patients with Drug-Eluting Stents and Kidney Failure: A retrospective study published in CJASN examined the effectiveness and safety of different blood thinners—prasugrel, ticagrelor, and clopidogrel—in patients with kidney failure who were on dialysis and received a drug-eluting stent.
A Novel Disease Caused by Defects in KCNJ16: In a JASN study involving seven individuals from six families exhibiting a tubulopathy with hypokalemia, salt wasting, disturbed acid-base homeostasis, and sensorineural deafness, researchers identified loss-of-function variants in the KCNJ16 gene as the cause.
Surprise Question Assessments Using the Electronic Health Record in Older Adults with Advanced Kidney Disease: The Surprise Question ("Would you be surprised if this patient died in the next 12 months?") is a prognostication tool for mortality and hospitalization among patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. In a Kidney360 study, investigators developed a best practice alert in the electronic health record to identify nephrology outpatients >60 years of age with an estimated glomerular filtration rate <30 mL/min/1.73 m2.
Heart Failure Hospitalization Risk and Iron Status in Individuals with Kidney Disease: In a recent study of veterans with chronic kidney disease (CKD), iron deficiency, regardless of cause, was associated with a higher risk of hospitalization for heart failure. The authors of the CJASN study note that their results have important implications for current iron management protocols in CKD, which focus primarily on achieving target hemoglobin levels without giving much attention to the effects of iron on other organs.
Effects of Psychological Wellbeing on Kidney Function: A Mendelian randomization investigation examined the causal effects of psychologic wellbeing—such as positive affect, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism—on kidney function. The findings, published in JASN, suggest that psychologic wellbeing can have a causal effect on kidney health.
Sox6 Controls Renin Expression during Renal Artery Stenosis: Knocking out Sox6 in renin expressing cells inhibited renovascular hypertension and kidney injury induced by renal artery stenosis. The findings, which are published in Kidney360, may lead to new therapeutic strategies for treating renovascular or resistant hypertension, kidney injury, and associated cardiovascular diseases.
