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October 2007 Issue of Renal And Urology News

World Literature Review

RRT-Treated ARF in Scotland More Common Than Expected

Acute renal failure (ARF) in Scotland occurs more frequently than previously thought, according to new research.

Canadian Renal Transplant Data Show Race Disparities

Among Canadian dialysis patients, those of East Asian and Indo Asian origin are less likely to receive a renal transplant than white patients, data show.

Nystatin Prophylaxis May Benefit CAPD Patients

Oral nystatin prophylaxis may prevent antibiotic-related fungal peritonitis (AR-FP) in patients receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), researchers in Hong Kong concluded.

Treatment Manages CMV in Transplant Recipients

Preemptive ganciclovir treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplant recipients appears to be associated with good long-term outcomes, German researchers report.

FDA News

Import Alert on Gambro Lifted After Successful Inspections

The FDA has lifted an alert preventing the import of Sweden-based Gambro's Phoenix and Prismaflex renal care machines into the United States following re-inspection of ...

Added Exclusivity Period for Hypertension Drug

Novartis Pharmaceuticals of East Hanover, N.J., has been granted pediatric exclusivity for Diovan (valsartan) based on studies conducted in children with high BP. This extends ...

Approvable Letter Issued on Urinary Carcinoma Therapy

Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Lexington, Mass., announced that it has received an approvable letter for Valstar (valrubicin solution), the only FDA-approved product for therapy of ...

Stronger Warnings on Type 2 Diabetes Drugs' Labels

Manufacturers of certain drugs approved to treat type 2 diabetes have agreed to add an upgraded "boxed" warning emphasizing that the drugs may cause or ...

Renal Nutrition Update

Measures to Restrict Dietary Oxalate

UNTIL RECENTLY, there was little interest in food oxalate values, as the dominant paradigm was that dietary oxalate contributed only 10% of daily oxalate excretion. ...

General News

Coffee May Cut Diabetes Risk

Moderate coffee consumption is associated with a reduced risk of having diabetes, according to researchers in Greece.

N-Acetylcysteine May Lower CIN Risk

Administering N-acetylcysteine (NAC) prior to cardiac catheterization may protect patients from contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), according to a Canadian study.

Antithrombotic Safety Linked to GFR

FONDAPARINUX may be safer than enoxaparin as treatment for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in patients with renal dysfunction.

BP Drug Protects CKD Patients

BP-LOWERING treatment with perindopril decreases the likelihood of major vascular events and stroke in CKD patients with cerebrovascular disease.

BP Management Better in Statin Users

STATIN USE is associated with higher rates of BP control, according to researchers.

Certain Biomarkers May Flag Future Diabetes

ELEVATED LEVELS of inflammatory cytokines in the blood can predict type 2 diabetes in menopausal women years before the disease manifests itself, according to a ...

Certain Biomarkers May Flag Future Diabetes

ELEVATED LEVELS of inflammatory cytokines in the blood can predict type 2 diabetes in menopausal women years before the disease manifests itself, according to a ...

CKD-Related Anemia Often Untreated

ONLY ABOUT one in 10 CKD-related outpatient visits for anemia management in the United States result in a prescription for an anemia medication, data show.

Coffee Cuts Diabetes Risk

MODERATE COFFEE consumption is associated with a reduced risk of having diabetes, according to researchers in Greece. The findings come from a study of 500 ...

Nocturnal Dialysis Superior

BARCELONA—Nocturnal hemodialysis (NHD) improves both cardiac and metabolic parameters and reduces the need for medication compared with conventional hemodialysis (CHD), according to a head-to-head comparison ...

Once Monthly C.E.R.A. Found Beneficial

BARCELONA—Once-monthly dosing of continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (C.E.R.A.) maintains stable hemoglobin levels in CKD patients regardless of age, gender, or comorbidities, according to study data ...

Cytokines Predict Increased Mortality in Dialysis Patients

BARCELONA--Pro-inflammatory cytokines are a marker for increased cardiovascular and overall mortality in dialysis patients, new research demonstrates.

Gadolinium Peril Confirmed

SCOTTISH RESEARCHERS have confirmed an association between gadolinium-based contrast agent use and development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with renal failure undergoing renal ...

Hemodialysis May Improve Cognition

REMOVAL OF uremic toxins by hemodialysis improves cognitive function, data suggest.Researchers studied 15 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who were on maintenance hemodialysis for ...

High-Dose ARBs May Benefit Diabetics

HIGH DOSES of valsartan reduce albuminuria to a greater extent than the conventional 160 mg dose in type 2 diabetics, researchers concluded.

High-Flux Hemodialysis Has Advantages

HIGH-FLUX hemodialysis confers a definite survival advantage in high-risk patients compared with low-flux hemodialysis, according to results from a long-term, prospective trial presented here for ...

Immunosuppression To Fit the Patient

RESEARCHERS have identified a gene signature that may enable clinicians to distinguish which renal transplant recipients could be eligible for a progressive decrease in their ...

Lowering Homocysteine Not Beneficial

USING HIGH doses of folic acid and B vitamins to lower elevated homocysteine levels in patients with advanced CKD (ACKD) or end-stage renal disease (ESRD) ...

More Type 2 Diabetics Face ESRD

END-STAGE renal disease (ESRD) is affecting a growing proportion of type 2 diabetics in Australia and New Zealand, a study found.

Pre-Existing CAD Worsens Tx Outcomes

PRE-EXISTING coronary artery disease (CAD) decreases survival of patients following renal transplantation, study findings suggest.

RLS and Mortality Linked

RESTLESS LEG syndrome (RLS) is an independent predictor of mortality in kidney transplant patients, a study found.

Novel Peptide-Based ESA Promising

BARCELONA—A novel peptide-based erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) called Hematide safely raises hemoglobin levels in anemic CKD patients and maintains stable hemoglobin levels in hemodialysis patients who ...

Program Benefits Obese CKD Patients

BARCELONA—British researchers have developed a weight-management program that has enabled obese CKD patients to lose a significant amount of weight and improve their functional ability ...

Prophylactic Dialysis Renoprotective

PROPHYLACTIC hemodialysis following coronary angiography improves renal outcomes in patients with advanced renal failure, researchers conclude.

Renal Transplant Patients May Need Vitamin D

BARCELONA—Most renal transplant patients in Denmark have inadequately low vitamin D levels, according to researchers who say routine supplementation may be required to mitigate the ...

Feature

The Hemodialysis Marathon Man

No matter how ordinary his life looks from the outside, though, Ed Strudwick, 67, is not a typical senior. Three times each week since February ...

Review articles

Controlling Volume in Hemodialysis

THE STANDARD goal of ultrafiltration (UF) is the achievement of "dry weight," defined as the lowest weight a patient can tolerate without intradialytic symptoms or ...

HIV Care is Growing in Complexity

THE PROLIFERATION of medications to aid in the suppression of viral replication for persons with HIV infection has expanded at a pace almost unparalleled in ...

NSF: A New Concern for ESRD Patients

NEPHROGENIC systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a new fibrotic skin disease entity that was first recognized in 1997 in 15 patients re-ceiving hemodialysis. Early reports noted ...

How Phosphorus Affects CKD Patients

PHOSPHORUS plays an important role in human life. It is an essential building block of the human body as a component of the bony skeleton, ...

How to Manage Vitamin D Deficiency

THE ACTIVE forms of vitamin D—calcitriol, paricalcitol, and doxercalciferol—which also are known as vitamin D receptor activators (VDRAs), have been largely used in nephrology only ...