The “Fistula First” initiative, which has as its goal the increase in % of dialysis patients who dialyze via an AV fistula rather than an AV graft or catheter, has been a controversial initiative. Although few would debate…
Mutations in the CFTR gene are responsible for cystic fibrosis. CFTR encodes a chloride transporter which in addition to its being expressed in the lungs and pancreas, is also found in the kidney. As I have blogged about previously,…
“Osmotic nephrosis” is a term which describes a common form of renal tubular injury in response to hyperosmolar substances. It is especially relevant to iv contrast nephropathy, and was first observed in animals and human patients infused with…
One of the major medical advances over the past few decades has been the success of stem cell transplants, which serves as a potential cure for many patients with previously untreatable leukemias and lymphomas. With the expanded use…
Scary article–from both a patient care perspective as well as from a medicolegal perspective–which will make you think about always checking that potassium level before making a decision about skipping dialysis…”Young Mother Dies After Missing Dialysis Treatment“. In…
I included two question marks in the title, since the existence of Lyme Nephritis remains controversial. However, somebody presented a case of alleged Lyme Nephritis in a recent Renal Grand Rounds which was interesting. In brief, the case…
Calcium phosphate stones are actually pretty rare. While calcium oxalate stones comprise about 80% of all instances of nephrolithiasis, calcium phosphate stones typically occur only in a small subset of patients–about 5 to 10% of patients according to…
Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare genetic disease, caused by mutations within one of two genes (TSC1 or TSC2) which is named for the formation of hard tumors (“tubers”) within a variety of tissues, including the CNS,…
There are numerous formulations of recombinant human erythropoietin, but only a few of which are used in the U.S. Generally speaking, all of the formulations have the exact same 165 amino acid core sequence which encodes the human…
While the ACGME regulates the vast majority of post-graduate residencies/fellowships, there are a few exceptions. One of the notable ones is the rapidly evolving Kidney Transplant fellowship. Previously, nephrologists were certified as members of the kidney transplant community…
