Active clinical trials for "Kidney Diseases"

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.

Conventional vascular imaging techniques are often either contra-indicated in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients due to their relative invasiveness, risks and cost. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) requires radiation and nephrotoxic iodinated contrast which may precipitate significant worsening of renal function and even prompt the need for institution of dialysis. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) using gadolinium-based contrast agents has been associated with the rare disease nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. Alternative imaging methods also have drawbacks: for example, this frail patient group has a higher risk of complications from conventional invasive catheter-based angiography, non-contrast-enhanced MRA allows visualization of smaller arteries but is less accurate for larger vascular structures, and ultrasound is often not appropriate for evaluation of the deep vessels of the abdomen and pelvis. Ferumoxytol is an ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide particle encapsulated by a semisynthetic carbohydrate, which was initially developed as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent in 2000. However, interest in ferumoxytol as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in the setting of CKD eclipsed its use as MRI contrast agent. During the last decade, ferumoxytol has gained appeal as an MRI contrast agent in patients with estimated glomerular filtration rates <30mL/min and there are reports in the literature for its safe use and utility in both adult and pediatric patients with CKD. Participants will be selected from those who have been referred for assessment prior to kidney transplant or prior to vascular access creation for haemodialysis and will be divided into three groups. The first group will include patients who will undergo a CTA of abdominal and aortoiliac vasculature as part of their preparation for potential kidney transplantation. The second and third groups will include patients who are having a fistula or a graft created for dialysis, respectively. These patients are routinely having US vascular mapping to visualise the blood vessels before a fistula or a graft is created. Additionally, patients included in the second and third groups are routinely having surveillance scans of their fistula or graft at 6 weeks following creation. Study participants undergoing standard imaging tests as part of their clinical care will also have ferumoxytol-enhanced MRA (FeMRA).

Single arm physiological study to measure renal functional reserve as a biomarker of kidney function and health

This study is an observational non-interventional study which will examine a) the accuracy of biomarkers in predicting renal and cardiovascular outcomes after contrast-induced acute kidney injury. This study will obtain de-identified human plasma & urine samples and corresponding de-identified research study data on subjects who are enrolled into the Prevention of Serious Adverse Events Following Angiography (PRESERVE) study and Biomarker Collection and Analysis in the PRESERVE Trial (VA CSP #578). Biomarker analyses will be performed on the de-identified samples and merged with de-identified research study data.

In people diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) anaemia is a common problem and is often treated with EPO (Erythropoietin). One form of EPO used is Darbepoetin (Aranesp®). EPO is safe to use but it has been associated with a rise in blood pressure (BP) in some individuals. The reasons for this are not clear. To try to explain this, this study will look at how EPO affects certain substances in the blood that influence how blood vessels contract and relax. This will be conducted by infusing small amounts of Acetylcholine, BQ123 and Noradrenaline into the arm vessels of volunteers using an established method called Forearm blood flow (plethysmography). Volunteers recruited for this study will include CKD patients undergoing therapy with Darbepoetin as part of their normal NHS care as well as healthy people not on treatment, who will act as controls. This is an observational pilot study of changes in physiology before and after Darbepoetin. It will provide valuable data for a later study comparing Darbepoetin to novel agents which work via different pathways to treat anaemia.

Metformin is a classical oral antidiabetic drug, often recommended to be the first-choice treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Based on the previous research on PRKAA2, STK11 and diabetes, this study aimed to investigate the distributive characteristic of PRKAA2 and STK11 polymorphisms and the potential influence of STK11polymorphisms on metformin efficacy among Chinese T2DM patients, discuss the association of PRKAA2 polymorphisms between T2DM patients and healthy subjects.

This study focuses on the prevalence and identification of kidney disease among participants of the WTC Health Program and the study team are planning to assess kidney disease in a multi-factorial manner. The first aim of this study is to correlate kidney dysfunction with 9/11 exposure, and the study team predicts that exposure to 9/11 is an independent risk factor in kidney disease among the WTC Health Program participants. Secondly, the study team proposes that a well-established WTC-related condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is independently associated with kidney disease. In addition, the study team believe there is a temporal causative relationship between evidence of kidney disease and the severity of OSA. Finally, the last aim is to further identify and explore potential mechanisms and phenotypes of kidney disease in participants of the WTC Health Programs. Regardless of whether the analyses support or reject these hypotheses, the findings will be of equally great public health importance. Successful completion of the proposed research would address a critical knowledge gap regarding the risk of kidney damage among this group of patients, and would inform future mechanistic studies with the potential to impact prevention.

Assess the renal changes in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD).

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