Anti-Nephrin Antibodies in Minimal Change Disease
Approach to the Patient with Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter Dysfunction- Part 1
Want to write a case report? RFN has you covered with a list of journals to choose from
Have a Nephrology Question? There Might Be A #Tweetorial For That!
Conferences, Courses, & Grants
FOAMed
Interventional Nephrology Series
Focus on Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Nephrology (POCUN) Series
Kidney Biopsy of the Month Series
A Divided Consensus on Health Care Reform
Interestingly, there was a near 50-50 divide on last week’s poll question regarding the surprising election of Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate in the state of Massachusetts. Many viewed the election as a referendum on public…
Glomerular Density and Predicting Progression in IgA Nephropathy
IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is an unpredictable beast, and identifying patients who will go on to develop progressive disease can be challenging. The classic predictors of progression, namely heavy proteinuria, CKD, glomerular sclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis, are themselves just…
Potential Use of Rituxan in Membranous Nephropathy
Take-home points from Mayo Clinic’s Fernando Fervenza’s excellent Renal Grand Rounds this morning, in which he addresses the potential use of rituximab as a treatment for membranous nephropathy: -the “rule of thirds” that we learn about membranous nephropathy (e.g.,…
The Business of Dialysis
An interesting figure in this month’s ASN Kidney News details the quarterly earnings for three major dialysis companies in the U.S.: DaVita, Dialysis Corporation of America (DCA), and Fresenius. Also included in the figure (not shown here) is…
ASN’s New Logo
The American Society revealed its new logo with the new year: a male form with two glowing kidneys visible inside him, striding into the future (at least, that’s my interpretation as to what he is doing–I guess alternate…
Interferon effects on the kidney
Interferons are cytokines which play a central role in the inflammatory response, and commercially prepared interferons have proven useful in the treatment of several diseases. For instance, interferon-alpha (often used in conjunction with ribavirin) is often used in…
Gadolinium Beliefs
Poll results from last week: The majority of individuals (60%) felt that it was definitely unsafe giving gadolinium to ESRD patients, with 45% of individuals also agreeing that it was unsafe in CKD stage 4. As is consistent…
Bortezomib in Myeloma Cast Nephropathy
Bortezomib is a proteosome inhibitor used primarily in the treatment of relapsed myeloma. However, it is increasingly being used in the management of myeloma cast nephropathy (MCN). Bortezomib binds to, and inhibits the function of, the 26S proteosome…
Cool New Cell Paper Demonstrates Molecular Basis for Thyroxic Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis
The periodic paralysis syndromes are characterized by episodic attacks of acute muscle weakness, typically due to rapid fluxes in the serum potassium concentration, based on an abnormality in intracellular potassium shift. While there have been several instances of…
The Undocumented ESRD Population
Although it is difficult to provide exact number, there are approximately 11 million illegal immigrants residing within the United States. Many of these individuals come from Mexico and other Latin American countries; since there appears to be a…