Active clinical trials for "Kidney Failure, Chronic"

Catastrophic Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (CAPS) is a rare condition in which life-threatening blood clots form in multiple organs simultaneously and can lead to multi-organ system failure and death. The causes of CAPS are not entirely understood, but CAPS episodes are often triggered by stressful events such as infections, surgery, or trauma. For patients who survive an episode of CAPS, permanent kidney failure is not uncommon because the kidneys are the organ system most frequently affected in CAPS. Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage kidney disease, but patients with a history of CAPS are exceptionally high-risk kidney transplant recipients because the chance that surgery itself could trigger a life-threatening or transplant-threatening episode of CAPS is significant. As a result, patients with CAPS are not generally considered candidates for transplantation. Despite this, these patients have a severely decreased life-expectancy on dialysis and their long-term survival and quality of life would be greatly increased by a successful kidney transplant. In this trial, a drug called eculizumab will be tested for its ability to prevent CAPS after kidney transplantation in patients with a prior history of CAPS. Eculizumab is an inhibitor of the complement system, which is believed to be important in generating the inflammatory environment that leads to diffuse clotting of blood vessels in CAPS. The investigators hypothesize that by blocking the complement cascade using eculizumab, in conjunction with blocking the coagulation system, that kidney transplantation can be safely and successfully performed in patients with a history of CAPS.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a combination therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers reduces the arterial stiffness assessed by applantiontonometry more than a single treatment in kidney patients.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the inhibition of aldosterone will result in lower excretion of protein via urine. The hypothesis is that if loss of protein is lowered, progression of renal disease with be slower than otherwise expected.

This study aims to determine if tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) supplementation can improve markers of inflammation, oxidative stress and blood lipids in Malaysian hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Patients suspected of having AV access stenosis will be referred to the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery by the dialysis center. Patients with signs of AV access failure who are found to have significant stenosis (more than 50%) at the venous end of the anastomosis will then be randomized to either high pressure balloon (Conquest) or to a cutting balloon (Boston scientific Balloon). Angiograms will then be performed before and after intervention.

This is a multi-center, two-part study; Part A and Part B. Part A of the study is an open-label, single-dose pharmacokinetic (PK) evaluation of 100 mg RVX000222 on dialysis and non-dialysis days in eight (8) End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients who receive hemodialysis as standard of care. Part B of the study is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in up to thirty six (36) ESRD patients receiving hemodialysis using a sequential cross-over design with RVX000222 at a daily oral dose of 100 mg b.i.d. (200 mg per day) or matching placebo in combination with SoC. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate if treatment with RVX000222 in combination with standard of care (SoC) decreases plasma alkaline phosphatase in comparison to placebo and SoC.

Based on multiple prior studies, kidney transplant recipients with diabetes are at higher risk for poor initial graft function after transplant. Our study is designed to determine if tight blood sugar control around the time of kidney transplant will improve short term graft function.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is linked to elevated mortality rate, and cardiovascular disease is the main cause related to this outcome. The cardiovascular mortality among patients on conventional hemodialysis (CHD) is high, achieving up to 30 times more risk of death when comparing to individuals of same age on general population. Congestive heart failure can develop in 25% to 50% of patients, leading to a worse prognosis. CKD patients present anatomic and functional abnormalities on peripheral bed vases and also cardiovascular abnormalities that can cause myocardial ischemia. This last usually is transitory and lead to left ventricular dysfunction that can persist even after the end of dialysis session despite normal coronary perfusion. The prolonged dysfunction is called myocardial stunning (MS). Patients on CHD are subject to hemodynamic instability, myocardial ischemia and development of regional abnormalities of myocardial wall (ARPM´s). MS induced by intradialytic ischemia is a complication that can be minimized by applying techniques associated to more stability during the CHD, as cool dialysate or increasing the length of the therapy. The goal of the present study is to evaluate the behavior of cardiovascular system (trough hemodynamic performance during CHD, accessing MS by echocardiography technique, and biomarkers associated to MS). Finally, the investigators aimed to investigate the role of two different dialysate calcium concentration (2,5 and 3,5 mEq/l) in the genesis of MS during CHD. The elucidation of pathogenesis of MS during CHD might help us modified hemodialysis technique in order to prevent MS, and reduce the high cardiovascular mortality among CKD patients.

Islet transplantation is a promising treatment of type 1 diabetes in selected cases. Results are however hampered by a relatively low number of islets surviving the transplantation into the liver, which currently is the site for transplantation. In the present study we compare a new transplantation site (intramuscular in the arm) to the golden standard (the liver) in patients undergoing kidney transplantation from the same donor. In half of the intramuscular transplanted patients, the islets will be mixed with mesenchymal stemcells from the recipient to, possibly, improve the immunological aspects of the transplantation.

Muscle strength can be measured by dynamometry, but the investigators did not find in the literature the study of this technique in the quadriceps of patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis. Analyze training impact conducted by cycle ergometer in quadriceps muscle strength in patients with chronic kidney disease during hemodialysis. This study will be a prospective, randomized. Inclusion of 46 patients followed by the dialysis unit of a university hospital, over 18 years, of both genders who underwent hemodialysis for more than six months and signed the consent form and enlightened. Patients will be divided into two groups: Intervention (n = 23) and control (n = 23). All will be evaluated for demographics and quadriceps strength given by standardization of technique, with hard and windy belt. The control group will be reassessed after two months of the initial assessment, since the intervention group held two months of training in hemodialysis a physical therapy protocol with the cycle ergometer.