Active clinical trials for "Kidney Diseases"

Recent studies on catecholamine physiology have shown a direct correlation with arterial hypertension, overcoming the exclusive role in the diagnosis and follow-up of chromaffin tumors. Nevertheless, in literature, few studies explore and reveal the utility of testing metanephrines for the evaluation of sympathetic activity and its associated cardiometabolic complications in patients with essential hypertension.

Acute renal failure (ARF) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a frequent complication, with significant clinical consequences. History of chronic kidney disease and the use of a large amount of iodinated contrast for planning and procedure are among the main risk factors for the development of this complication. The present study aims to: (1) define the role of non-contrast imaging modalities in pre-procedure planning; (2) evaluate the feasibility and safety of a new TAVI technique without using iodinated contrast; (3) to determine the incidence of acute renal failure in patients with aortic stenosis and chronic kidney disease undergoing TAVI, using the new technique without contrast. The study will be divided into two stages. In the pilot phase, 25 consecutive patients with chronic kidney disease (stage ≥ 3a) will have the TAVI planning and procedure performed without the use of iodinated contrast, but with all the steps subjected to verification by the standard technique, to ensure the safety of the patient. The occurrence of the combined primary safety outcome composed of adverse clinical events within 30 days (defined by the VARC-2 criteria) in less than 20% of cases will be used to define the continuity of the study. In the second phase, 50 patients with chronic kidney disease stage ≥ 3b will be submitted to TAVI with the "zero contrast" technique. The primary outcome assessed at this stage of the study will be the incidence of AKI within 7 days after TAVI using the new technique in this high-risk population.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of LUTS in patients with moderate to severe (Stage IIIb), severe (Stage IV) CKD and ESRD : Stage V CKD) without renal transplantation (both pre-dialysis and dialysis patients). The study will also investigate the correlation between the diuresis, functional bladder capacity and LUTS in this population. By means of the obtained results, the investigators hope to be able to predict at which values of diuresis and functional bladder capacity these patients will start to develop LUTS. The investigators will also evaluate the impact of LUTS on the quality of life of these patients.

The estimates risks and benefits of the percutaneous kidney biopsy have been reported mainly from retrospective studies. So far no prospective multicentre studies has been designed to identify rates of biopsy related complications. The aim of this prospective multicentre study was to evaluate safety and complication events related to biopsies on native kidney in Italy.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are the newest class of orally drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. These drugs decrease plasma glucose levels by inhibiting its reabsorption in the proximal tubules of the kidney. They have an attractive clinical efficacy profile, including glycemic control, weight loss, and lowering blood pressure. SGLT2 inhibitors have also been reported to reduce the risk of severe adverse cardiovascular events and progression of diabetic kidney disease. SGLT2 is expressed in the kidney, while its expression in other tissues is most likely negligible or absent. SGLT2 dilates the supply vessels to the glomerulus thereby promoting hyperfiltration. In animal models SGLT2 has been shown to reduce the excretion of macular dense adenosine, which may contribute to the excessive glomerular filtration rate as a result of vasodilation of the afferent vessels. Adenosine, unlike other vascular regions, increases the tension in the walls of the vessels supplying blood to the glomerulus. The role of adenosine in humans in this regard is poorly defined, although treatment with empagliflozin has recently been shown to increase the urinary excretion of adenosine in type 1 diabetic patients with controlled hyperglycemia. Our working hypothesis is that the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin may reduce the hyperfiltration of residual nephrons by increasing adenosine production, which affects the contraction of the afferent arterioles, and this effect occurs in various types of nephropathy. In addition, it has been described that SGLT2 inhibitors may affect individual parameters of calcium-phosphate metabolism, leading to changes in bone mineral density and an increase in bone resorption marker SGLT2 inhibitors also stimulate renal, proximal phosphate reabsorption. Increased phosphate reabsorption triggers the secretion of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). FGF23 inhibits the production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (the biologically active form of vitamin D), which reduces the absorption of calcium from the gastrointestinal tract, thereby stimulating the secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH). In the conducted studies, it was found that SGLT2 inhibitors increase the concentration of serum phosphorus, FGF23 in the plasma and PTH in the plasma, while lowering the level of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D.

Rationale: COVID-19 is associated with severely increased morbidity and mortality in patients with severely impaired kidney function, on dialysis or alive with a kidney transplant. Therefore, effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccination would be of great clinical importance in these patients. However, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination studies have excluded patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) so-far. Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with CKD stages 4/5, on dialysis or alive with a kidney transplant as compared to controls. Study design: prospective, controlled multicenter study Study population: 175 patients with CKD stages 4/5 (eGFR < 30 ml/min/1.73m2), 175 on dialysis , 300 alive with a kidney transplant and 200 controls (partners or sibblings of patients) Intervention: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination according to standard of care. Blood will be drawn at 4 different time points (baseline and at day 28, month 6 and in a subset 28 days after a third vaccination). Main study parameters/endpoints: The primary endpoint is the antibody based immune response on day 28 after the second vaccination. Participants will be classified as responders or non-responders based on a spike (S)1 specific antibody levels of >=10 or <10 BAU/mL. The percentage of responders of each patient cohort will be compared with the percentage responders in the control group. Safety is a secondary endpoint which will be reported in terms of percentage of solicited local and systemic adverse events (AEs)graded according to severity. Other secondary endpoints include longevity of the immune response at 6 months, antibody respons 28 days after a third vaccination and levels of SARS-CoV-2 specific T and B cell responses.

Patients on haemodialysis are at higher risk of getting a severe form of COVID-19 if they become infected. Vaccinations are soon to arrive and offer great hope of controlling the current pandemic. It is likely that patients on haemodialysis will be amongst the first people to be offered vaccination against COVID-19 when they become available. While any vaccines offered to these patients will be safe to receive, the effectiveness of the vaccines at giving immunity to being infected with COVID-19 are not known as they have not been explicitly tested in patients on haemodialysis. This study will involve having 3 blood tests to test for an antibody response following vaccination for COVID-19. The first will be 1 month after the first vaccination dose to look at the initial antibody response and the second and third will be 1 month and 6 months after the second vaccination dose.

ADPKD is the most common form of hereditary kidney disease and is known to occur in 1 of 400 to 1000 population in the U.S. ADPKD consists of 2.8% of patients receiving kidney transplantation in the investigator's center. It is known that ADPKD is associated with vascular anomalies, including abdominal aneurysms, valvular anomalies and especially intracranial aneurysms. Intracranial aneurysms occur in 9~12% of the ADPKD population which is higher than 2~3% in the general population and is known to be associated with PKD1 or PKD2 heritage. Until now, most of the studies regarding intracranial aneurysms in ADPKD are conducted in animal models, and there are only few cellular studies conducted from human samples. Total 154 patients received kidney transplantation for ADPKD from 1994 to December 2018 at Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. While performing kidney transplantation to ESRD ADPKD patients, nephrectomy has been routinely performed for polycystic kidney and the nephrectomy specimens can be obtained. The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanism of intracranial aneurysm in ADPKD patients by analyzing gene characteristics from nephrectomy specimens.

Primary membranous nephropathy (PMN), an autoimmune disease mostly associated with anti-phospholipase-A2-receptor (PLA2R) antibodies, is one of the most common causes of nephrotic syndrome in adults. In 30% to 40% of all cases, patients with PMN undergo spontaneous remission with conservative approaches. Corticosteroids, alkylating agents and calcineurin inhibitors are recommended treatment options in persistent disease activity despite supportive therapies. Nevertheless, patients with refractory disease constitute an important clinical aspect of PMN, and uncontrolled proteinuria may culminate in rapid progression to end-stage renal disease. In recent years, several studies demonstrated the efficacy of rituximab as a treatment option in patients with refractory PMN; however, data regarding daily clinical practice of this agent is still needed. Therefore, we conducted a study using our registry data to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab in patients with refractory PMN.

To define the correlation of the levels of a-Klotho with the severity of vascular calcification in the coronary arteries and aortic valve.