chronic kidney disease

Acute kidney injury, which is often caused by trauma, illness, or surgery, predisposes elderly individuals to the most serious form of chronic kidney disease, known as end stage renal disease, according to a new study.

The findings indicate that close medical follow-up is important for maintaining the health of patients who have experienced kidney damage.

A newly developed equation produces more accurate estimates of the glomerular filtration rate, a key indicator of kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease, according to new research.

Among patients receiving dialysis for chronic kidney disease, high levels of alkaline phosphatase -- a routinely measured laboratory marker of bone disease -- may signal an increased risk of death, reports a new study.

Consistently maintaining certain blood levels of markers of bone metabolism and disease can prolong the lives of patients on hemodialysis, according to a new study.

The findings indicate that keeping parathyroid hormone, calcium, and phosphorous levels in control is critically important for dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease.

For patients with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, treatment with activated vitamin D may reduce the risk of death by approximately one-fourth, suggests a new study.

Even when their blood pressure is kept strictly under control with the best available medicine, African-American patients with chronic kidney disease continue to lose their kidney function over time, research shows.

The finding suggests that treating CKD in this population may be vastly more complex than researchers had previously thought, with blood pressure control being only one piece of the therapeutic puzzle.

The estimated 19 million Americans living with chronic kidney disease face a high risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Now researchers have demonstrated that high blood phosphate directly stimulates calcification of blood vessels and that phosphate-binding drugs can decrease vascular calcification.

That means drugs that reduce phosphate levels could help protect CKD patients from cardiovascular disease.