Renal Failure

Researchers develop implantable, bioengineered rat kidney (w/ video)

Bioengineered rat kidneys developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators successfully produced urine both in a laboratory apparatus and after being transplanted into living animals. In their ...

Medical research created Apr 14, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Human disease leptospirosis identified in new species, the banded mongoose, in Africa

(Medical Xpress)—The newest public health threat in Africa, scientists have found, is coming from a previously unknown source: the banded mongoose. Leptospirosis, the disease is called. And the banded mongoose ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Fraudulent data may have led to use of risky treatment in ICUs

(HealthDay)—Studies loaded with fraudulent data may have encouraged the use of a treatment for patients in intensive care units that now appears to do more harm than good, new research shows.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 20, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

High salt intake linked to social inequalities

People from low socio-economic positions in Britain eat more salt than the well off, irrespective of where they live, states a paper led by Warwick Medical School published on Tuesday in the BMJ Open journal .

Health created Jan 07, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Second impact syndrome: A devastating injury to the young brain

Physicians at Indiana University School of Medicine and the Northwest Radiology Network (Indianapolis, Indiana) report the case of a 17-year-old high school football player with second impact syndrome (SIS). A rare and devastating ...

Neuroscience created Jan 01, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Team studies role of white blood cells in kidney failure

Better targeted treatments for 20 per cent of renal failure patients are on the horizon following a key discovery about the role of white blood cells in kidney inflammation.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Dec 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chronic kidney disease alters intestinal microbial flora, study finds

(Medical Xpress)—Chronic kidney disease changes the composition of intestinal bacterial microbes that normally play a crucial role in staving off disease-causing pathogens and maintaining micronutrient balance, according ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Oct 09, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Possible new therapy for the treatment of myeloma

(Medical Xpress)—Research from Karolinska Institutet shows that sorafenib, a drug used for advanced cancer of the kidneys and liver, could also be effective against multiple myeloma. The disease is one of the more common ...

Cancer created Sep 05, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Collaboration finds kidney disease tied to DNA damage

(Medical Xpress) -- A research collaboration involving Rockefeller University and more than two dozen other institutions has found a link between a gene mutation and chronic kidney failure. The study, published ...

Genetics created Aug 09, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New drug shows promise for kidney disease

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have demonstrated in the laboratory that a new drug is effective in treating a very common kidney disease –– although it will be a few years before it becomes available ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Aug 03, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study examines outcomes of patients who refuse transfusion following cardiac surgery

Jehovah's Witness patients who undergo cardiac surgery do not appear to be at increased risk for surgical complications or death when compared to patients who undergo cardiac surgery and receive blood transfusions, according ...

Cardiology created Jul 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Eat slowly and reduce diabetes risk

Your parents must have told you a thousand times - don't eat so fast, slow down! Now it appears that scientific research is backing them up. At the recent joint International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress ...

Diabetes created Jun 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Aggressively controlling glucose levels may not reduce kidney failure in Type 2 diabetes

A review of data from seven clinical trials suggests that intensive glucose control is associated with reduced risk of microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria (conditions characterized by excessive levels of protein in the ...

Diabetes created May 28, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Protective molecule, ACE2, also proving its worth in diabetic patients

ACE2, a molecule that has been shown to prevent damage in the heart, is now proving to be protective of the major organs that are often damaged in diabetic patients.

Diabetes created May 16, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Kidney cancer patients do better when whole kidney is not removed

Kidney cancer patients who had only their tumor removed had better survival than patients who had their entire kidney removed, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Cancer created Apr 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Renal failure or kidney failure (formerly called renal insufficiency) describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood. The two forms are acute (acute kidney injury) and chronic (chronic kidney disease); a number of other diseases or health problems may cause either form of renal failure to occur.

Renal failure is described as a decrease in glomerular filtration rate. Biochemically, renal failure is typically detected by an elevated serum creatinine level. Problems frequently encountered in kidney malfunction include abnormal fluid levels in the body, deranged acid levels, abnormal levels of potassium, calcium, phosphate, and (in the longer term) anemia as well as delayed healing in broken bones. Depending on the cause, hematuria (blood loss in the urine) and proteinuria (protein loss in the urine) may occur. Long-term kidney problems have significant repercussions on other diseases, such as cardiovascular disease.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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