Private MD News - Kidney Diseases

Home | News | Kidney Diseases

View Articles by Date

Year: 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

Month: JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Poor results of blood testing for kidney function could be the first sign that an individual's kidneys may be ceasing to efficiently filter toxins from their bodies, and they may require a kidney transplant at some point.

Research from the University of Maryland Medical Center indicates that a new method of kidney removal, through a small incision in the belly button instead of the back, could be significantly advantageous to kidney donors. Patients who underwent the procedure said they had less pain following surgery, an easier time bending, kneeling and stooping, and felt better about how they looked compared to the old approach.

"If we as surgeons can safely improve the donation process for our living donors by perfecting less-invasive surgical options, we should embrace these new approaches," said associate professor of surgery and lead author Rolf Barth.

Signs that Mayo Clinic notes as indicators that an individual may need blood testing for kidney function include chronic nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, unusual tiredness, muscle twitches, high blood pressure, and significant changes in urine volume. The healthcare organization also notes that these symptoms could be the result of many other ailments.

New research set to be published in The Lancet suggests that a lab test indicating kidney disease should be taken with dire seriousness, even if the patient doesn't have high blood pressure or diabetes. These findings were authored by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium, respectively.

One test indicated that poorly functioning kidneys could contribute to heart failure, even if the individual doesn't have high blood pressure. Another study showed that, although people with diabetes had a higher risk of heart attack than individuals who had tested positive on a lab test for chronic kidney disease, the latter condition carries the same risk of heart failure with or without being comorbid with insulin deficiency.

"Chronic kidney disease should be regarded as at least an equally relevant risk factor for mortality in individuals without hypertension as it is in those with hypertension," said Bakhtawar K. Mahmoodi, lead author of the blood pressure study.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 35 percent of individuals over the age of 20 have some form of chronic kidney disease, and at least 20 percent of that age group with high blood pressure also have chronic kidney disease.