Active clinical trials for "Kidney Diseases"

This is an open-label, single arm study design to evaluate HEPLISAV-B® in adults with ESRD who are initiating or undergoing hemodialysis.

The main study aim is to quantify the agreement between the analytical results provided by two third generation and two second generation Parathyroid hormone (PTH) assays. The primary comparison will be performed between the second-generation PTH assay"Intact PTH assay" from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc. and the third-generation PTH assay "biointact (1-84)" from Roche Diagnostics in terms of a Bland-Altman analysis. Several studies have evaluated the correlation between various PTH assays at a single time-point, but no previous study has tested the hypothesis that longitudinal changes in PTH levels, which are important for making treatment decisions, can be monitored by several PTH assays alike. To this aim, the key secondary objective is to analyze the longitudinal variance in PTH over the course of 1 year, using each of two assays of the second and third generations, respectively. Other secondary objectives include determining changes in serum phosphate, serum calcium, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), with respect to treatment decisions. For clinical applicability of the results to be obtained here, an important goal of the present study will be not to influence treatment decisions, which will remain independent of the study investigators, at the full responsibility of the hemodialysis physicians. At every quarterly blood draw over the course of one year, the investigators will freeze the serum from 100 patients, and at the end of 4 quarters the investigators will analyze PTH-levels using the following assays: Intact Parathyroid Hormone (Advia Centaur, Siemens Healthcare), PTH-Intact (Cobas, Roche), PTH (1-84) - The agreement between the PTH assays will be analyzed at baseline, as well as at the subsequent quarterly evaluation time-points by Bland-Altman analysis and complemented by Passing-Bablok regression. The longitudinal changes in PTH will be displayed graphically and analyzed by estimating the within-patient variance across time, the between patient variance at each time-point as well as effects on the mean log-PTH level due to course of disease and therapeutic interventions from a linear mixed model.

Evidence that supports using certain concentration of trisodium citrate as a locking solution for hemodialysis catheters has not yet been established. Higher concentrations of trisodium citrate are more effective in preventing thrombosis, formation of blood clots, preventing infections and biofilm formation, but due to potential side effects, their use is limited. The aim of the study is to compare the impact of two different concentrations of tri-sodium citrate solution (30% and 4%) on the formation of biofilms in hemodialysis single-volume jugular hemodialysis catheters and to determine the effectiveness of prevention of dysfunction of hemodialysis catheters.

The primary purpose of this study is to describe renal anemia treatment patterns in non-dialysis dependent (ND) and dialysis dependent (DD) populations, with a particular focus on iron use in erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA) treated patients. This study will also provide an epidemiological description of chronic kidney disease (CKD) associated anemia in relation to CKD stage, dialysis modality and underlying morbidity, as well as describe the relationship between inflammation and ESA treatment and describe the associated cardiovascular illness in ESA treated patients.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Patients who spend a lot of time being inactive have an increased chance of developing CVD. Thus, interventions that can help to increase the levels of physical activity in patients with CKD are needed. A recent study the investigators completed with kidney transplant participants showed a benefit from the investigators supervised exercise programme. However, the investigators results showed that 11 of the 18 patients who dropped out from the 12-month study were from black and minority ethnic groups. Some patient feedback from these participants suggested that cultural beliefs; including women not being comfortable to exercise in front of men in an exercise class environment, and difficulties around appropriate dress for exercise classes, contributed to some of these participants' decisions to withdraw from the study. This has prompted the investigators to investigate, the cultural influences that may contribute to patient decisions about partaking in physical activity and exercise training. The aim of this study is therefore to invite patients with CKD from the three most widely represented ethnic groups found in our South-East London Hospital Trust (Black African and African-Caribbean; South Asian, and White Caucasian patients) to discuss their beliefs and the cultural influences that may affect their decision on whether to engage with exercise and physical activity. Participants will complete a questionnaire on physical activity levels, and a questionnaire that looks at a patient's readiness to be involved in physical activity, prior to attending interviews or group discussions. The questionnaires will be translated for use with non-English speaking participants and will be used to ensure we get views on physical activity from those participants who are active and not, and ready to be involved in physical activity, and not. A combination of individual interviews and group discussions will then be used to explore the understanding of the terms 'physical activity' and 'exercise', and cultural barriers to participation. The investigators will have interpreters present for all discussions, undertaken in the community. The work from this pilot study will be used to inform and design a larger multi-centre study with an aim to design physical interventions that are culturally sensitive, and appropriate for all patients with CKD in the United Kingdom.

Diabetes kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in western countries and its incidence is worryingly increasing worldwide. Cardiovascular disease shows a continuous relationship with declining of renal function in type 2 diabetes patients. Moreover, there is a strong evidence of all-cause mortality risk excess even in patients with early stages kidney disease. MicroRNA (miRNA) are small non-coding RNA molecules, containing 21-25 nucleotides, that modulate post-transcriptional gene expressions. In the past years many human miRNAs involved in the pathogenesis of renal disease have been discovered, such as miR-192, miR-194, miR-204 and miR-25. Among these, miR-192 and miR-25, are receiving greater attention while it seems that they play a role in glomerulosclerosis and renal fibrosis. However too few data are available in large publish trials among patients with renal impairment and the role of serum and urinary levels of miR-192 and miR-25 in people with preserved renal function remain unclear. To evaluate the association between serum and urinary expression of miR-192 and miR-25 and renal function (according to different extent of renal impairment) in patients with or without type 2 diabetes.

Radiological examinations that require the administration of iodinated contrasts (IC) for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes are essential in current clinical practice, and their use in interventional procedures has been progressively increasing. IC can cause kidney damage, so there is caution in their use in at-risk populations. This fact may limit its diagnostic use, with data on underutilization of interventional techniques in patients with renal insufficiency, which worsen their prognosis. In addition, once the use of IC contrasts is decided, preventive measures, such as hyperhydration,are used and can have potential side effects, especially in patients at risk of heart failure (acute coronary syndrome, low left ventricular ejection fraction). New biomarkers of kidney damage have recently been developed, based on the detection of molecules expressed by the kidney in situations of early damage. The quantitative determination of cell cycle arrest proteins (Tissue Inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP2) and Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein -7 (IGFBP7)) can be predictive of the development of moderate to severe contrast-associated acute kidney injury. Urinary determination of [TIMP-2] x [IGFBP7] in patients with ACS (acute coronary syndromes) before cardiac catheterization would allow early identification of those patients vulnerable to IC-induced toxicity and adjustment of preventive measures.

Hyperkalemia is common in End-Stage Renal Disease on chronic hemodialysis patients. The most common cause of mortality in End-Stage Renal Disease patients is sudden cardiac death caused by hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia also increased urgent dialysis and hospitalization rate. Thus, the management for hyperkalemia in End-Stage Renal Disease patients is crucial, including restricting dietary potassium, medication control, and dialysis dosage adjustment. In the ordinary diet, the significant sources of potassium are vegetables and fruit. In our study, the investigators try to find out the influence of low potassium content vegetables for serum potassium control in End-Stage Renal Disease on chronic hemodialysis patients. This study is a prospective cohort study; the investigators enroll forty End-Stage Renal Disease on hemodialysis patients and perform this study in eight weeks period. The investigators conduct a randomized, double-blind and cross-over trial for investigating the influence of low potassium content vegetables on End-Stage Renal Disease patients. The serum potassium level will record under different potassium content vegetables. The possible adverse effects of low potassium content vegetables, cardiac arrhythmia, will also obtain by chart records during this study.

The aim of this PhD project focuses on the relationship between intestinal microbiota and health in the background of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Many pathologies, including the CKD, display a dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota, which is at the same time a consequence of CKD and contributes to its progression and complication. In a variety of chronic-degenerative and infectious diseases, the "fecal microbiota transplantation" (FMT) is being tested in recent years in addition with the application of both probiotics and prebiotics. FMT is indeed currently successfully used in the eradication of recurrent Clostridium difficile infections, with success rates of 90%, thus recent evidence suggests that FMT could be applied in other diseases characterized by microbiota dysbiosis, such as CKD and diabetes, in which the FMT has never been previously tested. This project will allow to study: i) the prototypal production of the encapsulated suspension of healthy microbiota tested in a minimally invasive FMT procedure (by oral administration); ii) the efficacy of the innovative prototype for colonization and modulation of intestinal microbiota following FMT; iii) the experimental and clinical feedback of this suspension, by in vivo studies.

The life span of adults with end-stage renal disease is reduced, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for approximately half the deaths among those undergoing hemodialysis (HD). Vascular calcification is a key process in the development of atherosclerotic and arteriosclerotic CVD, and contributes significantly to the greater mortality rates and CVD events in HD patients. Recently, there has been growing interest in the vitamin K-dependent matrix Gla protein (MGP) and its role in inhibiting vascular calcification. Animal studies have revealed that the vitamin K-dependent protein MGP may reduce the progression of vascular calcification, possibly by means of improving vascular function. The relationship between MGP and vitamin K lies in the fact that inactive matrix Gla protein requires vitamin K to carboxylate it for its activation. Currently, data in HD patients are scant and equivocal on the effects of vitamin K supplementation on CVD risk outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this 8-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial is to determine whether daily vitamin K supplementation can favorably alter measurements of endothelial function and arterial stiffness in HD patients.