Active clinical trials for "Renal Insufficiency, Chronic"

The health care burden of CKD is substantial and growing with 10-15% of the population affected in both developed and developing countries. It is well established that CKD is associated with systemic inflammation, which promotes cardiovascular disease and body wasting. However, causal therapies to treat systemic inflammation, and treat its adverse consequences remain sparse. As kidney function declines in all forms of CKD, oxalate levels increase in the plasma, leading to increased systemic exposure to oxalate and consequent tissue injury. Work from the investigators has shown that elevated plasma oxalate levels activate the NLRP3 inflammasome which in turn leads to the processing and release of cytokines. The investigators seek to test the hypothesis that oxalate contributes to the systemic inflammation observed in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The investigators plan to define the association between plasma oxalate levels and signs of systemic inflammation in patients on hemodialysis. In a second step the investigators will examine whether hemodiafiltration lowers plasma oxalate more efficiently than hemodialysis and reduces signs of systemic inflammation. Confirmation of the hypothesis may lead to the identification of oxalate as a novel therapeutic target for interventional trials aimed at reducing plasma oxalate in patients with ESRD.

Loss of kidney function results in accumulation in the blood of molecules that are either excreted or metabolized by the kidney. Collectively, these molecules are termed Uremic Retention Molecules (URMs) or toxins. It is increasingly recognized that colonic bacterial metabolites like p-cresyl sulfate and indoxyl sulfate that are absorbed from the colon and excreted by the kidney may contribute to the pool of compounds implied in uremic toxicity. Indeed, these URMs have been linked to increased levels of inflammation markers, chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality in CKD and/ or hemodialysis patients. Therefore, interventions that target the production or absorption of URMs from the gut might decrease inflammation and oxidative stress that are commonly seen in the uremic milieu. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) data show that high dietary fiber intake is associated with decreased serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in those with and without CKD and these associations are much stronger in the CKD population. A possible explanation of this effect is that a high fiber diet in CKD patients modulates the bacterial production, intestinal absorption and finally the serum levels of URMs like p-cresyl sulfate and indoxyl sulfate, which in turn results in decrease in inflammation. OBJECTIVES: Hypothesis: Higher serum levels of markers of inflammation such as high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -α seen in stage 4 CKD (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate 15-29 ml/min/1.73 m2) compared to stage 2 CKD (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate 60-89 ml/min/1.73 m2) is partly explained by the higher circulating levels of URMs (p-cresyl sulfate and indoxyl sulfate) in stage 4 CKD, and Dietary supplementation in stage 4 CKD with 30g/d of a soluble fiber Psyllium (brand name-Metamucil TM) will decrease circulating URMs levels and thereby, decrease serum levels of inflammation markers and urinary levels of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, a marker of kidney fibrosis.

INTRODUCTION Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a life-saving treatment for end-stage renal disease patients. However, cardiovascular disease remains the major cause of morbidity and mortality in PD patients. It is now realized that chronic asymptomatic intravascular hypervolemia is an important cause of cardiovascular disease in PD patients. OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of treating asymptomatic fluid overload on blood pressure, hospitalization and cardiovascular morbidity in PD patients. HYPOTHESIS The investigators hypothesize that treating asymptomatic fluid overload could improve the clinical outcome of PD patients. DESIGN & SUBJECTS This is an open label randomized control trial. The investigators plan to recruit 60 PD patients with asymptomatic fluid overload, defined as overhydration (OH) ≥ 2 liters. Patients will be randomized to active fluid management (treatment arm) or conventional management (control arm). STUDY INSTRUMENTS Overhydration will be identified by bioimpedance spectroscopy. INTERVENTIONS For the treatment arm, active fluid management includes dietary counseling, diuretics, and intensive dialysis regimen. For the control arm, patients will only receive dietary counseling. Patients will be followed for one year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Blood pressure control, number of hospital admission and duration of hospitalization for all cause, and hospitalization for cardiovascular disease during the study period. DATA ANALYSIS Blood pressure control will be compared by Student's t test. Hospitalization data will be compared by non-parametric Mann Whitney U test. EXPECTED RESULTS The study will determine the benefit of treating asymptomatic fluid overload in PD patients.

To validate on the mid-term in moderate and severe renal failure (CKD 3-4) a nomogram to adapt a fixed metformin daily posology according to renal function on the basis of the first short-term study made by the investigators.

Open-label, pharmacodynamic, safety, pharmacokinetic and efficacy study of Lunacalcipol Injection.

This study is to evaluate the variability of several pharmacodynamic measures of kidney function, cardiovascular function, cerebral perfusion, and haemodynamics.

The current study is designed to examine the impact of 16 weeks of moderate intensity aerobic training on arterial stiffness and blood pressure in stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The investigators hypothesize that short term aerobic training will improve the stiffness of arteries in CKD patients.

The prevalence and the incidence of the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are extremely high in Taiwan (1, 2). More than 45,000 patients are under renal replacement therapy in the year 2004 (2). The disease had not only caused a significant impact in personal life, but also a great burden on social security and government-run health insurance. However, despite this high prevalence, the awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in general population remains low (3, 4). The patients always come out too late for the intervention to slow down the progression of renal failure. Furthermore, most of them are not well prepared for the renal replacement therapy. The facts result in high mortality and morbidity in this specific population (5). It is mandatory to screen out and treat these patients early enough. However, these patients are deep into the community as the asymptomatic nature of CKD. The major purpose of the study is to screen the community for the early CKD and provide the appropriate intervention at time. The study will collect the characteristic demographic epidemiological data and find out risk factors for CKD of this geographic area, provide multidisciplinary education of CKD and establish timely referral for appropriate nephrologist care for treatment and monitoring of complications.

The primary purpose is to assess the role of sympathetic activation for the development and progression of chronic renal failure. Using microneurography sympathetic activity will be registered in various stages of kidney affection or failure and hypertension. A sympatholytic agent will be compared with a non-sympatholytic drug to asses the effect sympathetic activation and on the progression of kidney disease. The effects of a sympatholytic agent on cardiovascular reactivity to various stressors wil be examined.

This is an open-label, single-arm, baseline-controlled, multicenter efficacy and safety switch study involving 500 CKD subjects suffering from anemia and treated previously with a stable dose of ESA s.c. Correction of anemia will be maintained by s.c. administration of HX575 in two frequencies (i.e. qw and q2w), in order to maintain an Hb target range of 10.0-12.0 g/dL.