Subscribe | Editorial Board | About | Contact | Advertise

RSS

July 2008 Issue of Renal And Urology News

Editor's Letter

Prostate Cancer and the Younger Patient

In recent years, a number of studies purport to show that active surveillance with the potential for delayed treatment (AS-DT) is a feasible option for ...

World Literature Review

Post-Tx Weight Changes May Increase Death Risk

Patient weight changes after renal transplantation may be a marker for poor survival, data suggest.

Mycophenolate Mofetil Works As Well As Standard Therapy

Six months of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) treatment is as effective in the short term as conventional therapy for primary treatment of membranous nephropathy (MN) and ...

Chair Test Measures Physical Functioning in CKD Patients

Evaluating how predialysis patients rise from a chair may provide a simple way to identify those who need help with muscle training and functional exercise, ...

FDA News

New Indication for EBRT Transponders in Prostatectomy Patients

Calypso Medical of Seattle announced that the FDA has cleared a new indication for use of implantable Beacon electromagnetic transponders with its external-beam radiation therapy ...

Trial of Post-op Drug for Dialysis Patients to Proceed

Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) approval has been given to Ark Therapeutics Group plc of London for a phase III pivotal trial of Trinam, a novel ...

Agency Continues to Issue Alerts, Probe Heparin Issue

The FDA has continued to issue safety alerts and investigate events surrounding the injectable blood thinner heparin (FDA News, April 2008) and its "clear link" ...

Warning Letter Sent over Phosphate Binder's Promo Materials

The FDA posted on its Web site a letter sent to Shire Development, Inc., of Wayne, Pa., regarding promotional materials for its Fosrenol (lanthanum carbonate) ...

Malpractice News

Renal Failure Leads to Big Settlement.

A San Francisco man has won a $5.1 million malpractice settlement from the city after the staff at a municipal hospital botched his treatment for ...

New York Urologist Dodges a Bullet

A negligence lawyer's gaffe has a New York urologist breathing easier these days. He's off the hook in a malpractice suit while the attorney is ...

Tennessee Targets Frivolous Malpractice Suits

Patients who want to sue a doctor in Tennessee will first have to get a medical expert to certify that their charges have merit under ...

Georgia Judge Rules Damage Caps Unconstitutional

Limits on awards for noneconomic damages are unconstitutional, a Georgia judge has ruled.

Renal Nutrition Update

Alternative Malnutrition Treatments

DESPITE INTENSIVE dietary intervention, malnutrition remains prevalent in stage 5 CKD, affecting 20%-70% of all patients. Malnutrition, as evidenced by hypoalbuminemia, is strongly associated with ...

General News

Aortic Calcification Found to Be Widespread

STOCKHOLM—Most hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients have aortic calcification (AC) around the time they start dialysis, according to researchers.

Aspirin At Bedtime Decreases BP in Prehypertensives

NEW ORLEANS—Daily aspirin taken at bedtime is known to contribute to lower BP levels in patients with hypertension. A new study extends this finding to ...

Autoantibodies For Bladder Ca Diagnosis

SAN DIEGO—Serum autoantibody profiling may provide a novel non-invasive diagnostic tool for bladder cancer, according to researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in ...

Biomarkers May Gauge Anti-VEGF Therapy

SAN DIEGO—Dutch researchers say that they have identified potential biomarkers which might help physicians monitor the effectiveness of bevacizumab in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients ...

CIN Rare After Chest Imaging Procedures

CHICAGO—Routine use of contrast agents for evaluating chest pain carries a risk of contrast- induced nephropathy (CIN).

CIN Risk Similar With Iso- and Low-Osmolar Contrast

CHICAGO—Iso-osmolar and low-osmolar contrast agents showed similar nephrotoxicity in a study of patients with impaired renal function undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), according to findings ...

Cryoablation for Unresectable Renal Tumors

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Cryoablation is an appropriate option for patients with unresectable renal masses, but long-term follow-up studies are needed before this modality can be expanded to ...

PSA Tests Can Be Stopped In Some Men

ORLANDO—Men who have PSA levels below 3 ng/mL at age 75-80 years may be able to safely discon-tinue regular prostate cancer screenings, according to researchers.

Outcomes Not Improved With Intensive RRT

INTENSIVE RENAL replacement therapy (RRT) in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury does not improve outcomes, according to researchers.

HIFU Effective Long Term

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) achieves effective long-term prostate cancer control in patients with low- and intermediate-risk tumors, French and German researchers reported in European Urology ...

Legumes May Lower PCa Risk

A recent study of 82,483 men found that those with the highest intake of legumes had an 11% reduced risk of prostate cancer and a ...

Jugular Access is Not Safer

Jugular venous access for short-term dialysis in severely ill adult patients does not decrease infection risk compared with femoral access, except among those with high ...

Evidence Mounts for NSF, Gadolinium Contrast Link

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is nearly nine times more likely to occur among dialysis patients exposed to gadolinium-containing MRI contrast than in those not exposed, ...

Prostate Cancer Associated with Radiological Procedures

Exposure of the prostate to diagnostic radiological procedures may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to a study published in the ...

ACE Inhibitor Use Eases SLE

ACE inhibitor use delays development of renal involvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Thyroid Problem Common in CKD

Researchers who analyzed blood samples from more than 3,000 non-dialysis CKD patients found that 9.5% of them had subclinical hypothyroidism, according to a report in ...

Experimental Agent Ameliorates OAB

MILAN—New data demonstrate that the investigational agent fesoterodine, at both the 4 or 8 mg per day dose, is associated with significant improvements in overactive ...

Phosphorus Burden Greater in PD Patients

STOCKHOLM—Contrary to prevailing belief, patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) have a higher phosphorus burden than do patients on hemodialysis (HD).

Timing of IV Darbepoetin Administration Not An Issue

STOCKHOLM—Whether darbepoetin alfa (DA) is administered in the middle or at the end of a hemodialysis session has no significant effect on hemoglobin levels, according ...

Low Vitamin D Heralds Worse Outcomes

STOCKHOLM—Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of death and cardiovascular problems in patients with renal disease, according to studies presented here at the European Renal ...

Study: RLS Common in CKD Patients

STOCKHOLM—Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common affliction among patients with stage III-IV CKD, an Italian study found.

HoLEP Effective Despite Prostate Size

HOLMIUM LASER enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) is safe and effective for treating symptomatic BPH independent of prostate size, according to a report in BJU ...

IGF-I May Hike Cancer Mortality Risk

SAN DIEGO—Growth hormones commonly used by older men may raise cancer mortality risk significantly.

PCa Immunotherapy Combo Promising

SAN DIEGO—Dutch researchers have reported preliminary success with a combination of the GVAX immunotherapeutic vaccine and ipilimumab (MDX-010, Medarex, Inc) in patients with metastatic hormone-refractory ...

Imaging Modality Could Improve PCNL

WASHINGTON, D.C.—An imaging modality called cone beam CT may improve intraprocedural management decisions during percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL), researchers say.

Intensive Glucose Control Helps Kidneys

INTENSIVE GLUCOSE control with gliclazide (modified release) and other agents reduced the risk of nephropathy by one fifth in a large study of patients with ...

Post-Transplant Limb Syndrome Characterized

POST-TRANSPLANT distal limb syndrome (PTDLS), an uncommon complication in renal transplant recipients, is associated with a rise in alkaline phosphatase, a finding that could aid ...

Renal Angioplasty, Stents Effective

CHICAGO—Most patients with renovascular hypertension experience improved BP control and improved or stabilized renal function following renal artery angioplasty and stent placement, according to findings ...

Renoprotective Effect of Aliskiren Shown

ALISKIREN, AN oral direct renin inhibitor, may have renoprotective effects that are independent of its BP-lowering effect in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy who ...

Sclerotherapy Safe for Post-op Lymphoceles

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Sclerotherapy of postoperative lymphoceles is safe and effective, but the success of this approach may be directly related to the size of the lymphocele ...

MRI-TRUS Feasible for Targeted Biopsies

WASHINGTON, D.C.—An imaging technique that combines MRI and transrectal ultrasound (MRI-TRUS) is feasible for performing targeted prostate biopsies. This approach may have some advantages over ...

Nanotechnology May Aid PCa Diagnosis

SAN DIEGO—Once limited to the electronics industry, semiconductor material may hold the key to improving early detection of prostate cancer among African-American men.

Obesity, Ethnicity, and Hypertension

OBESITY HAS a stronger impact on the incidence of hypertension among Chinese Asians than in American whites and American blacks, researchers reported in the American ...

Study: PVR, UTIs Not Linked In Nursing Home Residents

RESIDUAL URINE in nursing home residents is not associated with UTIs, Norwegian researchers reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2008;56:871-874).

Use Tunneled Catheters First in ARF

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Primary placement of tunneled dialysis catheters (TDCs) in patients with acute renal failure (ARF) requiring hemodialysis may be better than using nontunneled dialysis catheters ...

Varicocele Embolization Efficacious

WASHINGTON D.C.—Percutaneous varicocele embolization is safe and effective for treating painful varicoceles and may improve sperm concentration in infertile men, according to Canadian researchers.

Very Elderly Benefit from BP Drugs

CHICAGO—In patients aged 80 years and older, antihypertensive treatment reduces morbidity and mortality according to results from the Hypertension in the Very Elderly (HYVET) trial.