Sunday, November 16, 2014

PKD Goes BOP; PKD Research Award to UCSB; Fast Tracked Wearable Dialysis Device

PKD Fundraising

From PR.com

ArtistShare Launches the BOP Project

New Fan-Funded Album by Jeff Lorber and Chuck Loeb to Help Fund the Polycistic Kidney Disease (Pkd) Foundation.

New York, NY, November 12, 2014 --(PR.com)-- BOP is a one-of-a-kind traditional bebop album that brings together world-class musicians, conceived by Grammy nominated keyboardist/composer/producer, Jeff Lorber, and guitarist, Chuck Loeb. The concept was brought to life at the Berk’s Jazz Festival in Philadelphia, at which Loeb conducts the bebop jam sessions. They organized and co-produced the record together, and later recorded it at Lorber’s studio.

All proceeds from this fan-funded project will go to the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation. Based in Kansas City, the PKD Foundation is fully committed to discovering treatments and a cure for the disease. Lorber is a kidney transplant recipient and many members of his family have suffered from PKD. This project is his way of spreading the word and giving back to the foundation that has done so much for him and his family.

Participants in the BOP project will get a look into the storyline of the project and how the album concept was created. Premium offers include credit listing on the record for supporting the PKD Foundation, being a special VIP guest at next year's Berks Jazz Festival, and meeting the musicians on BOP.

The BOP project’s homepage can be found online here:
http://www.artistshare.com/news/?pt=3704

www.ArtistShare.com

ArtistShare
Prawit Siriwat
(212) 501-8562



From InsideHalton, Halton, Ontario, Canada, By Justin Skinner


#giveaday encourages people to donate money to help children get well

Taylum Lamoureux

Taylum Lamoureux, reading with his mother Desiree, has been a SickKids patient virtually since he was born 19 months ago, having been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. He is one of the patients being featured as part of SickKids' new 'Better Tomorrows' fundraising campaign, which shows a different patient's story every day through Dec. 21.


With the giving season coming up, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is looking to put a human face – or 42 – on the hard work they do to keep children healthy.

The hospital’s 2014 brand campaign, Better Tomorrows, consists of a minimum of 42 commercials depicting real stories about real SickKids patients. Each 30-second spot will run on a different day until Dec. 21.

“These people are so courageous, and we asked if they would let us bring a camera in to film what is sometimes a really tough moment for them,” said David Estok of the SickKids Foundation. “The whole campaign is really trying to show authentic stories about what life is like for families at SickKids.”

Each commercial begins with the day’s date and an introduction to a SickKids patient or loved one. Estok said there could be even more than the 42 spots they have scheduled.

“We’re still shooting,” he said. “We’ll have 42 for sure, but there’s room for 45.”

There will also be additional spots that will air in movie theatres and online, making for a total of 50 different videos. Together, they represent the SickKids Foundation’s most ambitious digital project ever. [Read more]




PKD Research

From The Current, UCSB News, University of California, Santa Barbara, By Shelly Leachman
Unraveling a Biomedical Mystery

PKD kidney versus normal kidney

The top image reflects normal kidney function in a mouse; the bottom image comes from a mouse with PKD. The large circles outlined in red are the cysts caused by PKD.

Photo Credit: 

Jonathan Shillingford/Weimbs Lab
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2014/014504/unraveling-biomedical-mystery#sthash.nLf2QE0I.dpuf

With no cure, no approved treatment and no known means of slowing its progression, polycystic kidney disease is a biomedical cold case that affects more than 600,000 people in the U.S. alone — and some 12 million worldwide.
Hoping to crack that case with science, UC Santa Barbara biologist Thomas Weimbs is working to develop a new therapeutic approach by targeting the mechanism that causes the cysts to grow. A new gift to his lab is providing a big boost to that effort.
After a competitive selection process, the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust of New York has awarded $600,000 to Weimbs to support his team’s continued work on autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD or PKD). Weimbs is one of the world’s top experts in the disease, a potentially fatal genetic condition that leads to renal failure and causes major cardiovascular complications.
“We are thrilled and grateful to have received funding from the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, which will greatly help to accelerate the progress of our research,” said Weimbs, a professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology. “My lab is very focused on understanding the mechanisms that are most critical for the development of the thousands of cysts that eventually destroy both kidneys in PKD patients. We are driven by the motivation to develop a feasible therapy to at least slow disease progression and are working on several highly promising approaches in parallel. Philanthropic, targeted funding such as this can make a huge difference in speeding up the progress of research.”  [Read more]



From io9.com, by Annalee Newitz


This Medical Device Is a Major Gamechanger for Kidney Patients


This device could improve the lives of tens of thousands of people who visit kidney dialysis centers. Using this 10-pound, miniature portable dialysis machine, they can cleanse and monitor their blood constantly, with minimal effort. The FDA has just put the device in its new "fasttrack program."

David Russell Schilling highlights the new technology over on Industry Tap, noting that it won't be in the human testing phase until 2017. So we've still got a few years to wait before this is available on the market. But once that happens, medical device designers expect that portable dialysis devices will get smaller and smaller until ultimately they're implantable.

So this kidney dialysis device is basically the first step toward artificial kidneys, which might one day be transplanted into patients with organ failure. For now, though, this device will give kidney patients many new freedoms that are difficult when you depend on being near dialysis centers. [Read more]




Living With PKD, Eating Right During the Holidays, Control BP

From NewsWire.ca, PKD Foundation of Canada

Interview and Live Cooking Opp: Renal dietitian helps you stay on track during the holidays

Eating healthy over the holidays can be overwhelming for many, with family dinners and work parties derailing even the best of intentions. Store-bought goods and some of our favourite recipes can be very heavy in sodium, and for the estimated three million Canadians1 suffering from chronic kidney disease, it's even more difficult to prepare and adhere to a balanced, kidney-conscious diet.

Kelly Welsh, registered dietician and author of the acclaimed cookbook, Brilliant Eats, Simple and Delicious Recipes for Anyone Who Wants to Be KidneyWise, has been living with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) for 17 years. After spending years trying to find kidney-friendly recipes, she decided to publish her own cookbook to help others who were also looking for answers.

Brilliant Eats is full of delicious, original, recipes and includes information on the impact of a renal-friendly diet for those who are looking to make a change.

Kelly will be in Toronto for the first-ever Canadian Polycystic Kidney Disease Symposium, hosted by the PKD Foundation of Canada and is available for a live cooking demonstration on Thursday, November 20th and Friday, November 21st to showcase some of her favourite recipes for the holidays. She can also speak to the importance of a kidney-friendly diet for all Canadians and how to overcome the holiday challenges, including not giving in to boxed stuffing. [Read more]




From Renal And Urology News, by Jody A. Charnow, Editor


Rigorous blood pressure control can reduce the rate of increase in total kidney volume (TKV) in younghypertensive patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and relatively preserved kidney function, a researcher reported at the 2014 Kidney Week meeting.

“Low blood pressure treatment in healthy young hypertensive ADPKD patients with renin-angiotensin-system blockade is well tolerated and safe and results in a 14.2% slower rate of total kidney volume growth over 5 years, is associated with reduced left ventricular mass index, urinary albumin excretion, and renal vascular resistance,” said Arlene B. Chapman, MD, of Emory University in Atlanta.

Dr. Chapman presented the findings of a placebo-controlled, double-blind study of 558 hypertensive ADPKD patients aged 15–49 years who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) above 60 mL/min/1.73 m2.

She and her colleagues compared the effect of the ACE inhibitor lisinopril alone or in combination with the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) telmisartan and the effect of low versus standard blood pressure (BP) on the annual percent change in TKV. The researchers defined low BP as 95–110/60–75 mm Hg and standard BP as 120–130/70–80 mm Hg.

Results showed that subjects in the low BP group experienced a 14.2% slower annual increase in TKV than the standard BP group (5.6% vs. 6.6% per year), but did not differ significantly between the patients receiving lisinopril alone or in combination with telmisartan. [Read more]




Gift of Life

From WALB, NBC Affiliate Albany, Georgia, By Shannon Wiggins

Walgreens employee raises money for kidney transplant

Workers at Walgreens are helping out their District Manager whose in need of a kidney transplant. Today supporters sold hamburgers and hot dogs at the Walgreens on Slappey.

Workers at Walgreens and Kauffman Tires are firing up the grill to help out Keith Brendel who's in need of a kidney transplant.

"So 18 months ago, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease which affects the use of the kidney,” said Keith Brandel.

Brendel has been with Walgreens for more than 20 years and was surprised to discover his diagnosis.

"My initial reaction was that I didn't understand it,” said Brendel. “ I didn't know what it was."

Since then, his co-workers have put on several fundraisers.

" I know right here at our store on Slappey, we do jeans every Friday, we pay for that to help raise money and we thought about this, and we also been doing bake sales as well,” said Erica Richardson, Co-worker.

His Co-workers say Brendel does a lot for the community.

"He does a lot for all of our stores in our community,” said Ashley Morey, Co-worker. “So when we have a chance to give back we like to help him."

Brendel is working with doctors at Shands Hospital in Florida, and is on a waiting list.

"I was just put on the national list to get a kidney transplant and there's a possibility we have somebody that we know locally that may be taking care of donating a kidney, which is just amazing in itself,” said Brendel.

He says he's thankful for the support he's receiving around South Georgia.

"Being an employee of Walgreens, the family that we have here is amazing,” said Brendel. “More and more it's not just about the name on the wall. It's about the families that are created and the support that they give."

Brendel needs $22,000 for the transplant. He hopes to have the surgery before the end of the year. You can help Keith Brendel by making donations at any Albany Walgreens.




From The Gadsden Times, Gadsden, Alabama, By Lisa Rogers Savage

Give and Receive: Woman donates kidney through program so her brother can get a match



When Nancy Couch received the news last year that her brother had end-stage renal failure, she knew he would die without a kidney transplant. She knew right away she wanted to donate one of hers.

The decision, she says, was easy. The process wasn’t so simple.

After numerous tests, Nancy, 47, found out she was not a match for her 50-year-old brother, Bill Couch, who has polycystic kidney disease. So she began to explore the Kidney Paired Donation Program — a program that allows her to donate her kidney and, in turn, someone donates a kidney to her brother.

Her brother began dialysis Dec. 4. Statistics show a person’s life expectancy at that point is five years, but Bill’s prognosis was grimmer, based on the progression of his disease.

The waiting list for a deceased donor is more than three years; it’s even longer for a living donor.

Nancy and her brother grew up in Marietta, Ga., but she ended up in Gadsden several years ago, working at Corporate Pharmacy.

Their mother also has polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary disease that never skips a generation. It was inevitable that either she or her brother or both would have it. [Read more]





Kidney Week

From MedPage Today, By Kristina Fiore


PHILADELPHIA -- Nephrologists involved in the care of Ebola patients at Emory University will present their clinical exerience during a special session at this year's Kidney Week meeting.

Harold Franch, MD, will present a case report, and Michael Connor, MD, will discuss safety during the "Ebola and Dialysis" symposium at 10:30 am Friday in Hall D.

Franch and Connor have previously discussed some aspects of the role of dialysis in Ebola treatment in a Q&A with MedPage Today.

There will also be discussion of new guidelines for Ebola in dialysis developed jointly by the American Society of Nephrology and the CDC, presented by lead author Sarah Faubel, MD, of the University of Colorado Denver.

Helmut Geiger, MD, chief of nephrology of Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany, will present his center's experience treating an Ebola patient with the Hemopurifier -- a filtration device that manufacturer Aethlon Medical says can remove virus particles from the blood...

Late-Breakers

During a late-breaking trials oral session on Saturday morning, two groups will present findings from the HALT PKD trial, an NIDDK-funded trial looking at preventing kidney growth in polycystic kidney disease.

Another session will present more data from the ADVANCE-ON trial, focusing on the long-term effects of intensive glucose control in diabetic patients on end-stage kidney disease.

Researchers will also present efficacy and safety data on anti-TGF-beta1 therapy in diabetic nephropathy, a condition for which there have been few treatment options.

Kidney Stem Cells

Susan Quaggin, MD, of Northwestern University, head of this year's scientific program committee, said the meeting will focus on several new frontiers in renal research, particularly the advances in building a working kidney, "from how we can take a biopsy of a skin cell, reprogram it, and eventually turn it into a kidney, to help reduce the organ shortage while avoiding immunosuppression issues."

"There have been a lot of advances with other tissues, but the kidney is a complex organ and it requires a lot more work," Quaggin said.

A two-day preliminary program in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health will provide the most in-depth look at this process, but Quaggin said there will also be a symposium on stem cells in kidney care during the main meeting.

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