May 2010 Issue of Renal And Urology News

Cover Articles

Iron Lowers Platelet Counts

ORLANDO, Fla.—Correcting iron deficiency in non-dialysis CKD patients lowers platelet counts and improves erythropoiesis, researchers reported here at the National Kidney Foundation's 2010 Spring Clinical ...

AKI, ARF Common with Pandemic Flu

ORLANDO, Fla.—Acute kidney injury (AKI), acute renal failure , and the need for dialysis are common complications in critically ill patients with pandemic H1N1 Influenza ...

Weight Gain Raises PCa Relapse Risk

Obesity one year after radical surgery also boosted risk.

News in Brief

Walnuts Slow Prostate Tumor Growth

Mice that consumed approximately 14 shelled walnuts per day for two months exhibited significantly smaller, slower-growing prostate tumors after 18 weeks than did mice that ...

HCV-Infected Kidneys May Help HCV-Infected Recipients

Although kidneys infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) were 2.6 times more likely than HCV-free donor kidneys to be discarded than used for transplantation, HCV-positive ...

Diabetes Increases Post-Op Death Risk

Patients with diabetes who undergo cancer surgery are approximately 50% more likely to die shortly after the operation than non-diabetics.

Donor Gene Variant Predict Kidney Graft Success

Particular variations of the CAV1 gene in a kidney donor may determine the success of a kidney transplant. A new analysis uncovered significant differences in ...

Drug Improved Metastatic Bladder Cancer Survival

In a recent study, zoledronic acid decreased the incidence of skeletal-related events (SREs) and improved one-year survival in patients with bone metastases from bladder cancer, ...

Feature

Imaging Use Up, But the Reasons Are Debatable

This article is the first in a two-part series examining the expanding use of diagnostic imaging in urology.

FDA News

High-Resolution Camera for Medical Imaging Approved

Toronto-based hybridyne Imaging Technologies has received FDA clearance for ProxiScan, a high-resolution gamma camera for detecting cancer and other abnormalities.

Buccal Tablets for Oropharyngeal Candidiasis Cleared

The FDA has approved Oravig (miconazole) buccal tablets for the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis in adults and childen aged 16 years and older.

Data Support PCa Vaccine's Mechanism of Action

Phase 3 trial data presented at the American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting support the mechanism of action of Provenge (sipuleucel-T), a novel investigative ...

New Formulation of PAH Medication Is Now Available

Epoprostenol for Injection, an improved formulation of epoprostenol that is stable at room temperature, is now commercially available, according to the drug's maker, Actelion Pharmaceuticals ...

Boston Scientific, Bladder Health Network Enter Pact

Boston Scientific Corp., of Natick, Mass., has entered into a four-year exclusive marketing agreement with Bladder Health Network (BHN), a privately held company headquartered in ...

Legal Issues

Failure to Perform Follow-Up Urinalyses Lands a Clinician in Court

Dr. R, 52, was a rheumatologist with his own solo practice. Many of his patients came from referrals.

Renal Nutrition Update

Teaching Dialysis Patients About Phosphorus

They need to know how to identify phosphate additives on food labels.

General News

Switch to Hemodiafiltration May Be Beneficial

SEATTLE—Switching from five-hour hemodialysis (HD) to four-hour hemodiafiltration (HDF) does not significantly alter patient outcomes except for serum albumin levels, according to a new study ...

Erectile Dysfunction Signals Higher Death and Cardiovascular Risk

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a strong predictor of all-cause mortality and the composite of cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, and heart failure in men with ...

Switching to Nocturnal Hemodialysis Beneficial

ORLANDO, Fla.—Patients converted from in-center conventional hemodialysis (ICHD) to in-center nocturnal hemodialysis (NHD) have improvements in serum phosphorus levels and blood pressure (BP) control, according ...

Findings Stress the Need for Phosphorus Counseling of CKD Patients

The phosphorus content of a typical American diet significantly increases levels of fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23), a pilot study suggests.

Vitamin D May Lower EPO Requirements

Administration of ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) to anemic hemodialysis (HD) patients receiving erythropoietin (EPO) may decrease EPO requirements, suggest data presented at the National Kidney Foundation ...

Hemoglobin Levels Declining in CKD Patients on ESAs

Hemoglobin (Hb) levels in non-dialysis CKD patients treated with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) have been on the decline.

Proton Pump Inhibitors May Improve Phosphate Control

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) taken concurrently with phosphate binders may increase phosphate control in hemodialysis (HD) patients, according to researchers who presented their data at ...

High Phosphorus Linked to Lower Pulse Pressure in Women with CKD

Higher serum phosphorus is associated with lower pulse pressure in women, but not men, with non-dialysis dependent CKD, according to researchers at the National Kidney ...

Better Preparation Before Dialysis Improves Survival

Patients with renal disease who are well prepared to start dialysis are significantly more likely to survive their first year of treatment, according to a ...

Death Risk Is Lower With Peritoneal Dialysis

Compared with incident hemodialysis (HD) patients, incident peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, especially non-diabetics, show a robust and consistent survival advantage for up to five years.

Focal Ablation May Treat PCa Relapses

TAMPA, Fla.—Magnetic resonance (MR)-guided ablative therapy using laser thermal energy or cryoablation could provide another option for treating locally recurrent prostate cancer after radical retropubic ...

Peritoneal Dialysis Called Underused

Reasons include a lack of nephrologist training in the modality and a number of mistaken beliefs.

BP Guidelines May be Inappropriate for HD Patients

SEATTLE—Guidelines recommend that hemodialysis (HD) patients have predialysis BP levels below 140/90 mm Hg, but study findings suggest that such levels may increase their risk ...