The practice of medicine is to the life sciences what finance and economics are to the mathematical disciplines. Both are wedged between STEM subjects and the humanities requiring skills emanating from both the right and left brain. Read any student’s application to medical school or residency program as they explain why medicine’s intersection of science…
Gradual transition to dialysis and palliative dialysis should be alternatives offered to patients with advanced chronic kidney disease, according to an editorial.
The rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) caught the world by surprise. Whatever becomes the new normal, the United States will be a different country from what it was on March 13, when President Donald J. Trump declared a national emergency. At this writing on May 28, more than 100,000 people in the…
Like many of my colleagues, I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Burton “Bud” Rose on April 24, 2020 at the age of 77 years. There were two important sides of Dr Rose: First, he was well known in the nephrology community as an extremely modest, brilliant nephrologist who published 2…
Back in August 2012, I wrote a provocative editorial in this space titled, “How About Twice-Weekly Hemodialysis?” This was the first time the topic of dialysis provided less frequently than 3 times a week was brought up in the 21st century. I argued that because kidney function worsens gradually, dialysis treatment should be gradual and…
I recently had reason to survey the progress made in renal cell cancer (RCC) over the last 70 or more years. In 1950, a patient who presented with metastatic RCC had a 0%-5% overall response rate (ORR) to the therapies of the time, with an anticipated overall survival (OS) of approximately 10 months. By 2005,…
Many nephrologists and other healthcare providers (HCPs) have enthusiastically embraced the July 10 presidential executive order titled, “Advancing American Kidney Health Initiative.” The 3 main components include a reduction in the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) rate by 25% by 2030; a substantial increase in home dialysis so that 80% of new ESRD patients can receive…
The benefits of early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are significant, as patients in whom CKD is diagnosed in the early stages have the chance to make lifestyle changes, learn how to manage their disease, and extend their lives while avoiding or postponing the need for dialysis or transplant.
