| Join Our List |
 |
| Take Charge of Your Healthcare with
My Health™ |  |
AAKP My Health™ features new tools to help you take charge of your health!
Now you can print an emergency contact card and receive doctor appointment reminders!
The site also allows you to:
· Track your lab results
· Log your medications
· List your healthcare team members
· Prepare information for doctor visits
· Test your kidney knowledge
|
|
|
 |
| Be Heard! Your Input Will Provide Insights Regarding Treatment of Anemia! | |
AAKP invites you to participate in a patient survey. AAKP is partnering on research that will gather patient perspectives on the treatment of anemia, including a focus on blood transfusion. The company conducting this research manufactures treatments used to manage anemia. Researchers aim to publish research findings in order to help medical professionals, patients and caregivers fully understand patient experiences, thoughts and feelings.
You Could Be One of Three Lucky Participants to Receive a $250 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com
We realized that this survey is a great opportunity for us to invite more AAKP members to participate in our research panel. To encourage people to get the experience of participating in a survey (and hopefully considering becoming part of our panel) we're offering an incentive. Specifically, everyone who takes the survey will be entered in a drawing for Amazon.com gift certificates. Three $250 gift certificates will be given away!
Simply click this link, and you'll be taken to the survey. |
| Weight Loss and Better Control of Diabetes During Pregnancy Might Lower Offspring's Risk of Kidney Disease |
 Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are more likely to have mothers who were obese or had diabetes during pregnancy, according to a study. The study included more than 4,000 patients with childhood CKD - diagnosed at age 21 or younger - in Washington State. These patients were compared to more than 20,000 healthy children to evaluate possible relationships between a pregnant woman having diabetes, being obese or overweight, and the risk of her child developing CKD anytime during infancy, childhood, or adolescence.
The overall rate of childhood CKD was approximately 0.26 percent - about 1 case per 400 live births. When researchers adjusted for length of gestation, CKD risk was 69 percent higher for children whose mothers had diabetes before pregnancy. For children whose mothers developed diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes), there was a 28 percent increase in CKD risk. Children of obese mothers demonstrated a 22 percent increase in CKD risk. The new results raise the possibility that stricter control of diabetes and weight control during pregnancy could decrease children's risk of developing CKD. |
| Attend a Kidney Beginnings: Live Program Near You! |  Kidney Beginnings: Live is heading to Albuquerque, NM, on December 4th. Kidney Beginnings: Live is a FREE educational program designed to educate individuals about the basics of kidney disease and proper kidney care. Attendees receive complimentary educational materials, learn about kidney disease in a welcoming atmosphere and have the opportunity to have questions answered by local health care professionals.
Please continue to check the AAKP website for more upcoming locations and dates.
|
| Drug Thought to Protect Kidneys from Imaging Dye Doesn't Work |  An oral drug given to protect the kidneys from contrast dye didn't reduce the risk of kidney damage. The new data that acetylcysteine doesn't protect the kidneys from the potential for damage from this dye may change the way patients are treated. Contrast dye is used during coronary arteriograms and angiography procedures, which include diagnostic X-rays of the heart's blood vessels, as well as in x-rays of other blood vessels. The dye may adversely affect kidney function in some patients, especially those older than 70 years and who have had previous kidney failure, congestive heart failure or diabetes.
In previous studies, researchers found mixed results regarding the benefits of using acetylcysteine to minimize kidney damage from the contrast dye. Because of positive results from some studies, acetylcysteine - a cheap, relatively safe drug - has been used to shield the kidneys from the contrast dye. It's not clear why the contrast dye harms some patients' kidneys. The damage is often reversible, but in some patients it can result in the need for dialysis or cause death. The highest risk for problems occurs in the first three days after the exam. Because of the study's negative results, researchers say the next step is to find either a contrast dye that's less toxic to the kidneys or something else that can protect the kidney from the dye. |
| Small Amounts of Urinary Protein Predict More Rapid Cognitive Decline in Elderly Women | |
 A new study has found that low amounts of albumin in the urine, at levels not traditionally considered clinically significant, strongly predict faster cognitive decline in older women. The study involved more than 1,200 women aged over 70 years who were tested for general cognition, verbal/word memory, verbal fluency (speed in making word associations), and working/short-term memory. Researchers found that participants with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio of >5 mcg/mg at the start of the study experienced cognitive decline at a rate 2 to 7 times faster in all cognitive measures than that attributed to aging alone over an average 6 years of follow-up.
The strongest association was seen with a decline in the verbal fluency score, which has been attributed to progressive small vessel disease in the brain, which supports the view that albuminuria is an early marker of diffuse vascular disease. "Therefore, in light of the aging U.S. population, which is at risk for cognitive decline and vascular disease, simple, non-invasive screening for albumin in the urine as an independent predictor for subsequent cognitive decline may represent an important public health issue.
|
|
|
|
|
