Active clinical trials for "Renal Insufficiency"

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of oral versus intravenous hydration in the prevention of the contrast-induced nephropathy.

Studies have shown that patients with ESRD on hemodialysis have high levels of inflammatory markers which may contribute to the high rates of cardiovascular disease and mortality seen in these patients. Vitamin D use in dialysis patients has been shown to have a survival benefit, with paricalcitol at advantage over calcitriol. Since there is some evidence for involvement of the vitamin D receptor in inflammation, this study is designed to look for an effect of paricalcitol on markers of inflammation in hemodialysis patients.

This study is designed to evaluate the hemoglobin response to Aranesp® (darbepoetin alfa) in black subjects (African-Americans) with chronic renal failure (CRF) receiving hemodialysis and to examine the safety profile.

Contrast nephropathy (CN) remains a common complication of radiographic procedures and an important cause of hospital-acquired acute renal failure. Only hydration with saline is uniformly accepted and used in clinical practice as a cornerstone for the prevention of CN. But the optimal preventive strategy for CN is not known. Sodium bicarbonate might be even more effective than hydration with sodium chloride for prophylaxis of CN. Therefore the aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of two regimens of sodium bicarbonate compared with a prolonged infusion of sodium chloride in the prevention of CN. Primary endpoint: Decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) within 48 hours.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of alemtuzumab after kidney transplantation as part of a multitherapy regimen to prevent kidney graft loss and death and to avoid steroids and chronic use of calcineurin inhibitors in pediatric renal transplant recipients 1 to 20 years of age.

Valganciclovir (VGCV) has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment and prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in HIV patients. It is under review for the prevention of CMV disease following organ transplantation. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), the morpholinoethyl ester of mycophenolic acid (MPA) is currently the most widespread used immunosuppressant in kidney transplantation. These drugs exerts their effects by blocking the production of DNA primarily in lymphocytes. Recent studies have suggested that combining both MMF and GCV in vitro may have a beneficial effect on the treatment of CMV infections. However, the effect of these two drugs in combination on the effects of the immune system both in vitro and in vivo have not been studied. Preliminary studies in our lab show that a combination of these two drugs have an additive effect on the level of immunosuppression of both the growth and differentiation of progenitor bone marrow cells as well as lymphocyte proliferation. This study is designed to test patients degree of immune reactivity both on and off VGCV when used in combination with MMF. Patients will have blood drawn as several time points and an immune assay will be performed to show if VGCV when used in combination with MMF exerts immunosuppressive effects.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the anti-T cell antibody, Thymoglobulin is a more effective induction medication than the anti-IL-2R inhibitor daclizumab, in kidney transplant recipients who have a positive crossmatch with their live donor.

This study evaluates the efficacy of remote ischemic preconditioning on preventing contrast medium-induced nephropathy in a population of high risk patients undergoing coronary angiography. Half of participants will receive a preconditioning procedure while the other half will receive a sham procedure.

Study of eculizumab ability to correct the reperfusion injury of the kidney allograft.

Prolonged periods of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) cause high levels of plasma free haemoglobin(Hb) and are associated with increased morbidity. We hypothesized that repletion of nitric oxide (NO) during and after the surgical procedure on CPB may protect against endothelium dysfunction and organ failure caused by plasma-Hb induced NO scavenging.