1 1642 124 DOES INFLAMMATION AFFECT OUTCOMES IN DIALYSIS PATIENTS? CHRONIC, LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION IS A COMMON COMORBID CONDITION IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), AND PARTICULARLY IN CHRONIC DIALYSIS PATIENTS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE CONSIDER THE QUESTION OF WHETHER INFLAMMATION AFFECTS OUTCOMES IN DIALYSIS PATIENTS. LEVELS OF PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, AS WELL AS C-REACTIVE PROTEIN, ARE ELEVATED IN CHRONIC DIALYSIS PATIENTS. MULTIPLE FACTORS LIKELY CONTRIBUTE TO CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY ACTIVATION IN KIDNEY DISEASE PATIENTS INCLUDING THE UREMIC MILIEU, LIFESTYLE AND EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES, INFECTIOUS AND THROMBOTIC EVENTS, THE DIALYSIS PROCESS, AND DYSBIOSIS. INCREASED INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN BOTH CKD AND CHRONIC DIALYSIS PATIENTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERSE CLINICAL OUTCOMES INCLUDING ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY, CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS, KIDNEY DISEASE PROGRESSION, PROTEIN ENERGY WASTING AND DIMINISHED MOTOR FUNCTION, COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, AS WELL AS OTHER ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES INCLUDING CKD-MINERAL AND BONE DISORDER, ANEMIA, AND INSULIN RESISTANCE. STRATEGIES THAT HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE CHRONIC SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION IN CKD AND CHRONIC DIALYSIS PATIENTS INCLUDE BOTH PHARMACOLOGICAL AND NONPHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS. HOWEVER, DESPITE EVIDENCE THAT SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY MARKERS CAN BE LOWERED IN KIDNEY DISEASE PATIENTS TREATED WITH VARIOUS STRATEGIES, EVIDENCE THAT THIS IMPROVES CLINICAL OUTCOMES IS LARGELY UNAVAILABLE AND REPRESENTS AN IMPORTANT FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTION. OVERALL, THERE IS STRONG OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE THAT INFLAMMATION IS HIGH IN CHRONIC DIALYSIS PATIENTS AND THAT THIS IS INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH NUMEROUS ADVERSE CLINICAL OUTCOMES. TARGETING INFLAMMATION REPRESENTS A POTENTIALLY NOVEL AND ATTRACTIVE STRATEGY IF IT CAN INDEED IMPROVE ADVERSE OUTCOMES COMMON IN THIS POPULATION. 2018 2 3884 53 KIDNEY DISEASE IN DIABETES. PERSONS WITH DIABETES MAKE UP THE FASTEST GROWING GROUP OF KIDNEY DIALYSIS AND TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. IN 1985, WHEN THE FIRST EDITION OF DIABETES IN AMERICA WAS PUBLISHED, 20,961 PERSONS WITH DIABETES WERE RECEIVING RENAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY, REPRESENTING 29% OF ALL NEW CASES OF END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE (ESRD). BY 2012, 239,837 PERSONS WITH DIABETES WERE ON RENAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY, ACCOUNTING FOR 44% OF ALL NEW ESRD CASES. THE INCREASED COUNT REFLECTS GROWTH IN DIABETES PREVALENCE AND INCREASED ACCESS TO DIALYSIS AND TRANSPLANTATION. THOSE WITH A PRIMARY DIAGNOSIS OF DIABETES HAVE LOWER SURVIVAL RELATIVE TO OTHER CAUSES OF ESRD, PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE COEXISTENT MORBIDITY ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETES, PARTICULARLY CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVD). WHILE SURVIVAL ON DIALYSIS HAS SLOWLY IMPROVED ACROSS MODALITIES SINCE THE 1990S, IT REMAINS REDUCED IN PERSONS WITH DIABETES, HALF OF WHOM DIE WITHIN 3 YEARS OF BEGINNING DIALYSIS IN THE UNITED STATES. SIMILAR TO PERSONS WITH ESRD IN GENERAL, THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH AMONG ADULTS WITH DIABETES WHO STARTED DIALYSIS IN 1995-2009 WERE CVD (58% OF THE DEATHS) AND INFECTIONS (13% OF THE DEATHS). KIDNEY TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS WITH DIABETES HAVE MUCH BETTER SURVIVAL THAN THOSE ON DIALYSIS, INDICATING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF THE TYPE OF RENAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY (TRANSPLANT VERSUS DIALYSIS) ON LONG-TERM SURVIVAL. KIDNEY FAILURE AFFECTS ABOUT 1% OF PERSONS WITH DIABETES IN THE UNITED STATES. A CONSIDERABLY HIGHER PROPORTION, ABOUT 40%, HAVE LESS SEVERE KIDNEY DISEASE. SINCE THE SECOND EDITION OF DIABETES IN AMERICA WAS PUBLISHED IN 1995, A WEALTH OF NEW INFORMATION HAS CONTRIBUTED SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF KIDNEY DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETES. IN 2002, THE NATIONAL KIDNEY FOUNDATION'S KIDNEY DISEASE OUTCOME QUALITY INITIATIVE PUBLISHED A UNIFORM DEFINITION OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) AND CLASSIFICATION OF ITS STAGES IRRESPECTIVE OF UNDERLYING CAUSE, THUS PROVIDING A COMMON LANGUAGE FOR DEFINING BOTH THE SEVERITY AND PROGNOSIS OF KIDNEY DISEASE. THE DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF CKD WERE SUBSEQUENTLY UPDATED AND REFINED BY THE KIDNEY DISEASE: IMPROVING GLOBAL OUTCOMES IN 2012. ACCORDINGLY, CKD IS CLASSIFIED BASED ON BOTH ALBUMINURIA AND GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (GFR) CATEGORIES, AND TOGETHER WITH KIDNEY FAILURE, THESE CONDITIONS ARE COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS CKD, REGARDLESS OF ETIOLOGY. IN ADDITION, THE KIDNEY DISEASE: IMPROVING GLOBAL OUTCOMES RECOMMENDS USING EQUATIONS TO ESTIMATE GFR (EGFR), WHICH INCLUDE THE ROUTINELY OBTAINED VARIABLES SERUM CREATININE, AGE, SEX, AND RACE/ETHNICITY. THE USE OF SERUM CYSTATIN C, AN ENDOGENOUS FILTRATION MARKER LESS INFLUENCED THAN SERUM CREATININE BY VARIATIONS IN MUSCLE MASS, DIET, AND TUBULAR SECRETION, HAS EMERGED AS AN ALTERNATIVE OR AN ADJUNCT TO SERUM CREATININE-BASED EQUATIONS, PARTICULARLY IN PERSONS WITH DIABETES, IN WHOM EARLY KIDNEY DISEASE IS OFTEN CHARACTERIZED BY ELEVATED GFR. SINCE THE LATE 1990S, NEW MOLECULAR MECHANISMS HAVE BEEN DEFINED THAT ARE HELPING TO EXPLAIN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE. GLOMERULAR STRUCTURAL LESIONS WERE FOUND TO EXPLAIN 95% OF THE VARIABILITY IN ALBUMIN EXCRETION AND 78% OF GFR VARIABILITY. THE LATTER PERCENTAGE INCREASED TO 92% BY ADDING INDICES OF GLOMERULAR-TUBULAR JUNCTION ABNORMALITIES AND INTERSTITIAL EXPANSION TO THE REGRESSION MODELS. PODOCYTE INJURY APPEARS TO PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN THE PROGRESSION OF DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY. IN PERSONS WITH EITHER TYPE 1 OR TYPE 2 DIABETES, PODOCYTE CHANGES MAY OCCUR EVEN BEFORE THE INCREASE IN ALBUMINURIA, SUGGESTING THAT DIABETES ITSELF MAY INDUCE PODOCYTE ALTERATIONS. MUCH HAS ALSO BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE PROGNOSTIC IMPLICATIONS OF CKD. ELEVATED ALBUMINURIA AND LOW GFR ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ESRD, FATAL AND NONFATAL CVD, AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY. A META-ANALYSIS OF 1,024,977 PARTICIPANTS (NEARLY 13% WITH DIABETES) FROM 30 GENERAL POPULATION AND HIGH-RISK CARDIOVASCULAR COHORTS AND 13 CKD COHORTS INDICATED THAT WHILE THE ABSOLUTE RISKS FOR ALL-CAUSE AND CVD MORTALITY ARE HIGHER IN THE PRESENCE OF DIABETES, THE RELATIVE RISKS OF ESRD OR DEATH BY EGFR AND ALBUMINURIA ARE SIMILAR WITH OR WITHOUT DIABETES. THESE FINDINGS UNDERSCORE THE IMPORTANCE OF KIDNEY DISEASE PER SE AS A PREDICTOR OF IMPORTANT CLINICAL OUTCOMES, REGARDLESS OF THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF KIDNEY DISEASE. NEW BIOMARKERS OF DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE APPEAR TO HAVE ADDITIONAL PROGNOSTIC INFORMATION BEYOND THAT PROVIDED BY ALBUMINURIA. THESE MARKERS INCLUDE KIDNEY INJURY MOLECULE 1, LIVER FATTY ACID-BINDING PROTEIN, N-ACETYL-BETA-D-GLUCOSAMINIDASE, NEUTROPHIL GELATINASE-ASSOCIATED LIPOCALIN, BETA-TRACE PROTEIN, BETA(2)-MICROGLOBULIN, AND TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR RECEPTORS 1 AND 2. MANY CONCEPTS ABOUT RISK FACTORS FOR CKD ILLUSTRATED IN THIS CHAPTER HAVE NOT CHANGED SINCE 1995, AND WHERE THEY HAVE, THOSE CHANGES ARE DISCUSSED. IN PARTICULAR, MAJOR ADVANCES HAVE BEEN MADE IN ELUCIDATING THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC COMPLEXITY OF CKD, WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO DEFINING CELLULAR METABOLIC MEMORY AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE LONGLASTING EFFECTS OF STRICT GLYCEMIC CONTROL OBSERVED IN PERSONS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES OR TYPE 2 DIABETES. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PERSONS WITH DIABETES AND CKD HAVE EXTENDED THE TIME COURSE FROM ONSET OF SEVERE ALBUMINURIA TO ESRD AND REDUCED THE OCCURRENCE OF CVD. IN TYPE 1 DIABETES, THE COMBINED DIABETES CONTROL AND COMPLICATIONS TRIAL (DCCT) AND ITS LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP, THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DIABETES INTERVENTIONS AND COMPLICATIONS (EDIC) OBSERVATIONAL STUDY, INDICATED THAT INTENSIVE EARLY METABOLIC CONTROL REDUCED THE RISK OF IMPAIRED GFR BY 50% AND OF CVD OUTCOMES BY 42%, WITH A SPECIFIC 57% DECREASE IN MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION, STROKE, OR DEATH FROM CVD, EFFECTS THAT WERE PARTLY MEDIATED BY THE REDUCED INCIDENCE OF DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE. AMONG PERSONS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES, A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS INDICATED THAT MORE INTENSIVE GLYCEMIC CONTROL (GLYCOSYLATED HEMOGLOBIN [A1C] <7%) WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT 10% REDUCTION IN ALBUMINURIA BUT HAD NO EFFECTS ON MORTALITY, KIDNEY FAILURE, OR OTHER VASCULAR OUTCOMES. THE ACTION TO CONTROL CARDIOVASCULAR RISK IN DIABETES (ACCORD) TRIAL, TARGETING AN A1C LEVEL <6.0% IN THE INTENSIVE INTERVENTION ARM, REPORTED AN INCREASED RISK OF CVD DEATH FOR INTENSIVE VERSUS CONVENTIONAL GLYCEMIC CONTROL, ALTHOUGH IT REMAINS UNCLEAR WHETHER THIS EFFECT WAS RELATED TO MORE HYPOGLYCEMIC EPISODES, THE USE OF ADDITIONAL HYPOGLYCEMIC MEDICINES, OR TO THE TARGET GLYCEMIC LEVEL ITSELF. LIKEWISE, THE MODEST GAINS IN INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES IN THE INTENSIVE TREATMENT ARMS OF THE ACTION IN DIABETES AND VASCULAR DISEASE: PRETERAX AND DIAMICRON MODIFIED RELEASE CONTROLLED EVALUATION (ADVANCE) AND THE VETERANS AFFAIRS DIABETES (VADT) TRIAL WERE COUNTERBALANCED BY A TWOFOLD TO THREEFOLD HIGHER RISK OF SEVERE HYPOGLYCEMIA. TOGETHER, THESE TRIALS INDICATE THAT GLYCEMIC CONTROL IS EXTREMELY USEFUL UP TO A POINT, BUT MORE AGGRESSIVE GLYCEMIC CONTROL MAY BE HARMFUL. SIMILARLY, FOR BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL, 2014-2015 RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE GUIDELINE-WRITING GROUPS ENDORSE LESS INTENSIVE AND MORE INDIVIDUALIZED BLOOD PRESSURE TARGETS FOR DIABETES AND CKD THAN IN THE PAST. PERSONS WITH DIABETES AND CKD REQUIRE MULTIDISCIPLINARY MANAGEMENT INVOLVING A COMBINATION OF TREATMENTS AND BEHAVIORAL ADJUSTMENTS TO DELAY PROGRESSION OF CKD AND TO PREVENT THE ASSOCIATED COMPLICATIONS. THE STENO-2 STUDY, A LANDMARK PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED TRIAL IN DENMARK, DEMONSTRATED THAT COMPARED WITH CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT, INTENSIVE MULTIFACTORIAL INTERVENTION LED TO 46% LOWER DEATH RATE, 56% LESS SEVERE ALBUMINURIA, 43% LOWER INCIDENCE OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY, AND 47% LOWER INCIDENCE OF AUTONOMIC NEUROPATHY DURING THE 13.3-YEAR STUDY PERIOD. 2018 3 6652 49 UPDATE ON INFLAMMATION IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. BACKGROUND: DESPITE RECENT ADVANCES IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) AND END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE (ESRD) MANAGEMENT, MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN THIS POPULATION REMAIN EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH. PERSISTENT, LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF CKD, PLAYING A UNIQUE ROLE IN ITS PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND BEING ACCOUNTABLE IN PART FOR CARDIOVASCULAR AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY, AS WELL AS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROTEIN-ENERGY WASTING. SUMMARY: THE VARIETY OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY STATUS IN CKD, INCLUDING INCREASED PRODUCTION AND DECREASED CLEARANCE OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ACIDOSIS, CHRONIC AND RECURRENT INFECTIONS, INCLUDING THOSE RELATED TO DIALYSIS ACCESS, ALTERED METABOLISM OF ADIPOSE TISSUE, AND INTESTINAL DYSBIOSIS. INFLAMMATION DIRECTLY CORRELATES WITH THE GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (GFR) IN CKD AND CULMINATES IN DIALYSIS PATIENTS, WHERE EXTRACORPOREAL FACTORS, SUCH AS IMPURITIES IN DIALYSIS WATER, MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF THE DIALYSATE, AND BIOINCOMPATIBLE FACTORS IN THE DIALYSIS CIRCUIT PLAY AN ADDITIONAL ROLE. GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES CONTRIBUTING TO INFLAMMATORY ACTIVATION IN CKD ARE CURRENTLY BEING INTENSIVELY INVESTIGATED. A NUMBER OF INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO TARGET INFLAMMATION IN CKD, INCLUDING LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS, PHARMACOLOGICAL AGENTS, AND OPTIMIZATION OF DIALYSIS. IMPORTANTLY, SOME OF THESE THERAPIES HAVE BEEN RECENTLY TESTED IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. KEY MESSAGES: CHRONIC INFLAMMATION SHOULD BE REGARDED AS A COMMON COMORBID CONDITION IN CKD AND ESPECIALLY IN DIALYSIS PATIENTS. A NUMBER OF INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO BE SAFE AND EFFECTIVE IN WELL-DESIGNED CLINICAL STUDIES. THIS INCLUDES SUCH INEXPENSIVE APPROACHES AS MODIFICATION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION. FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ARE NEEDED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF THESE INTERVENTIONS ON HARD OUTCOMES, AS WELL AS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF INFLAMMATION IN SELECTED CKD POPULATIONS (E.G., IN CHILDREN). 2015 4 1883 52 END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE, INFLAMMATION AND CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOMES. DESPITE MARKED IMPROVEMENTS IN RENAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY DURING THE LAST 30 YEARS, THE AGE-ADJUSTED MORTALITY RATE IN END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE (ESRD) PATIENTS IS STILL UNACCEPTABLY HIGH AND COMPARABLE TO THAT OF MANY MALIGNANCIES. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) REMAINS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN ESRD PATIENTS. HOWEVER, TRADITIONAL RISK FACTORS CAN ONLY PARTIALLY EXPLAIN THE HIGH PREMATURE CARDIOVASCULAR BURDEN IN THIS POPULATION. NONTRADITIONAL RISK FACTORS, INCLUDING PERSISTENT LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION, ARE CRITICAL IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS, VASCULAR CALCIFICATION, AND OTHER CAUSES OF CVD AND MAY ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO PROTEIN-ENERGY WASTING AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) PATIENTS. INFLAMMATORY BIOMARKERS, SUCH AS HIGH SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AND INTERLEUKIN-6, INDEPENDENTLY PREDICT MORTALITY IN THESE PATIENTS. THE CAUSES OF INFLAMMATION IN CKD ARE MULTIFACTORIAL AND INCLUDE IMBALANCE BETWEEN INCREASED PRODUCTION (DUE TO MULTIPLE SOURCES OF INFLAMMATORY STIMULI SUCH AS OXIDATIVE STRESS, ACIDOSIS, VOLUME OVERLOAD, CO-MORBIDITIES, ESPECIALLY INFECTIONS, GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES, AND THE DIALYSIS PROCEDURE) AND INADEQUATE REMOVAL (DUE TO DECREASED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE OR IN ESRD PATIENTS, INADEQUATE DIALYTIC CLEARANCE) OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. THOUGH THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO ESTABLISHED GUIDELINES FOR THE TREATMENT OF LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION IN ESRD PATIENTS, SEVERAL STRATEGIES HAVE BEEN PROPOSED, SUCH AS LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS, PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT, AND OPTIMIZATION OF DIALYSIS. FURTHER STUDIES ON PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN PATHOGENIC PROCESSES OF INFLAMMATION IN ESRD, AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY INTERVENTIONS TARGETING PRODUCTION OR REMOVAL OF CYTOKINES OR BOTH ON PREMATURE CVD AND CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN THIS PATIENT GROUP ARE WARRANTED. 2017 5 3035 38 GENETICS/GENOMICS IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE--TOWARDS PERSONALIZED MEDICINE? THE PROGRESSION RATE OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) TO ITS TERMINAL STAGE, END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE (ESRD), AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND SEVERITY OF VARIOUS COMPLICATIONS, ARE AT LEAST INDIRECTLY INFLUENCED BY GENETIC--AND EPIGENETIC--FACTORS. FOR YEARS, SCIENTISTS HAVE HELD OUT HOPE THAT THE RAPIDLY EVOLVING FIELD OF GENETICS COULD TRANSFORM MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT, MOVING BEYOND A TRIAL-AND-ERROR APPROACH TOWARDS "PERSONALIZED MEDICINE." INDEED, THERE ARE NOW SIGNS THAT THE ROLE OF GENETICS AND THE PURSUIT OF "PERSONALIZED MEDICINE" IN MEDICAL CARE WILL BE A PRIORITY FOR GOVERNMENTS DURING YEARS TO COME. BUT THE VISION OF INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT BASED ON A PATIENT'S GENETIC MAKEUP AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL MARKERS HAS YET TO MATERIALIZE IN THE FIELD OF CKD AND ESRD. AS THE TOXIC UREMIC ENVIRONMENT MAY RENDER CKD PATIENTS MORE SENSITIVE TO THE EFFECTS OF GENETIC VARIANTS, IT IS LIKELY THAT GENETIC FACTORS COULD BE OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE IN THIS HIGH-RISK POPULATION. THEREFORE, OUTCOME IN THE CKD POPULATION MAY BE IMPROVED BY ESTABLISHING INDIVIDUAL GENETIC/EPIGENETIC PROFILES, THUS ENABLING PHYSICIANS TO DESIGN AN INDIVIDUALIZED THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY. PERSONALIZED MEDICINE BASED ON A MORE INDIVIDUALIZED THERAPY COULD BE APPLIED IN, FOR EXAMPLE, PHARMACOTHERAPY (CYP GENES), DIALYSIS THERAPY, AND NUTRITIONAL AND LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS. 2009 6 933 41 CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. THE DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) HAVE EVOLVED OVER TIME, BUT CURRENT INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES DEFINE THIS CONDITION AS DECREASED KIDNEY FUNCTION SHOWN BY GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (GFR) OF LESS THAN 60 ML/MIN PER 1.73 M(2), OR MARKERS OF KIDNEY DAMAGE, OR BOTH, OF AT LEAST 3 MONTHS DURATION, REGARDLESS OF THE UNDERLYING CAUSE. DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION ARE THE MAIN CAUSES OF CKD IN ALL HIGH-INCOME AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES, AND ALSO IN MANY LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES. INCIDENCE, PREVALENCE, AND PROGRESSION OF CKD ALSO VARY WITHIN COUNTRIES BY ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, POSSIBLY THROUGH EPIGENETIC INFLUENCE. MANY PEOPLE ARE ASYMPTOMATIC OR HAVE NON-SPECIFIC SYMPTOMS SUCH AS LETHARGY, ITCH, OR LOSS OF APPETITE. DIAGNOSIS IS COMMONLY MADE AFTER CHANCE FINDINGS FROM SCREENING TESTS (URINARY DIPSTICK OR BLOOD TESTS), OR WHEN SYMPTOMS BECOME SEVERE. THE BEST AVAILABLE INDICATOR OF OVERALL KIDNEY FUNCTION IS GFR, WHICH IS MEASURED EITHER VIA EXOGENOUS MARKERS (EG, DTPA, IOHEXOL), OR ESTIMATED USING EQUATIONS. PRESENCE OF PROTEINURIA IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF PROGRESSION OF CKD AND DEATH. KIDNEY BIOPSY SAMPLES CAN SHOW DEFINITIVE EVIDENCE OF CKD, THROUGH COMMON CHANGES SUCH AS GLOMERULAR SCLEROSIS, TUBULAR ATROPHY, AND INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS. COMPLICATIONS INCLUDE ANAEMIA DUE TO REDUCED PRODUCTION OF ERYTHROPOIETIN BY THE KIDNEY; REDUCED RED BLOOD CELL SURVIVAL AND IRON DEFICIENCY; AND MINERAL BONE DISEASE CAUSED BY DISTURBED VITAMIN D, CALCIUM, AND PHOSPHATE METABOLISM. PEOPLE WITH CKD ARE FIVE TO TEN TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE PREMATURELY THAN THEY ARE TO PROGRESS TO END STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE. THIS INCREASED RISK OF DEATH RISES EXPONENTIALLY AS KIDNEY FUNCTION WORSENS AND IS LARGELY ATTRIBUTABLE TO DEATH FROM CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, ALTHOUGH CANCER INCIDENCE AND MORTALITY ARE ALSO INCREASED. HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IS SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER FOR PEOPLE WITH CKD THAN FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION, AND FALLS AS GFR DECLINES. INTERVENTIONS TARGETING SPECIFIC SYMPTOMS, OR AIMED AT SUPPORTING EDUCATIONAL OR LIFESTYLE CONSIDERATIONS, MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE TO PEOPLE LIVING WITH CKD. INEQUITY IN ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR THIS DISEASE DISPROPORTIONALLY AFFECTS DISADVANTAGED POPULATIONS, AND HEALTH SERVICE PROVISION TO INCENTIVISE EARLY INTERVENTION OVER PROVISION OF CARE ONLY FOR ADVANCED CKD IS STILL EVOLVING IN MANY COUNTRIES. 2017 7 1585 24 DNA METHYLATION PROFILING IDENTIFIES EPIGENETIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIABETES PATIENTS WITH ESRD AND DIABETES PATIENTS WITHOUT NEPHROPATHY. WE IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS FOR CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE PROGRESSION BY COMPARING SITE-SPECIFIC DNA METHYLATION LEVELS IN MORE THAN 14,000 GENES BETWEEN AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC DIABETES PATIENTS WITH END STAGE RENAL DISEASE (ESRD) AND DIABETES PATIENTS WITHOUT NEPHROPATHY. WE IDENTIFIED 187 GENES THAT ARE DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS ON AT LEAST TWO CPG SITES IN EACH GENE IN DNA EXTRACTED FROM SALIVA. OF THE 187 GENES WHOSE MEAN METHYLATION LEVELS DIFFERED BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS, 39 GENES, OR CLOSELY RELATED GENE FAMILY MEMBERS, HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO BE INVOLVED IN KIDNEY DEVELOPMENT OR DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY, PER SE, OR HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH DIALYSIS-INDUCED CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD CELLS. THE FACT THAT SUCH A SUBSTANTIAL FRACTION (21%) OF THE 187 CANDIDATE GENES HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED PREVIOUSLY THROUGH GENOME ASSOCIATION OR TRANSCRIPTION PROFILING STUDIES SUGGESTS STRONGLY THAT THE DNA METHYLATION DIFFERENCES WE OBSERVE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE PREDISPOSITION AND/OR TREATMENT. THE FACT THAT THESE NEPHROPATHY AND/OR DIALYSIS-ASSOCIATED DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PATIENTS WERE IDENTIFIED IN DNA EXTRACTED FROM SALIVA OFFERS PROOF-OF-PRINCIPLE THAT INTER-INDIVIDUAL EPIGENETIC DIFFERENCES MAY PROVE USEFUL AS PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS OF DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY. 2011 8 5440 35 RENAL DIFFERENTIATION OF AMNIOTIC FLUID STEM CELLS: PERSPECTIVES FOR CLINICAL APPLICATION AND FOR STUDIES ON SPECIFIC HUMAN GENETIC DISEASES. BACKGROUND: OWING TO GROWING RATES OF DIABETES, HYPERTENSION AND THE AGEING POPULATION, THE PREVALENCE OF END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE, DEVELOPED FROM EARLIER STAGES OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, AND OF ACUTE RENAL FAILURE IS DRAMATICALLY INCREASING. DIALYSIS AND PREFERABLE RENAL TRANSPLANTATION ARE WIDELY APPLIED THERAPIES FOR THIS INCURABLE CONDITION. HOWEVER THESE OPTIONS ARE LIMITED BECAUSE OF MORBIDITY, SHORTAGE OF COMPATIBLE ORGANS AND COSTS. THEREFORE, STEM CELL-BASED APPROACHES ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY ACCEPTED AS AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY. DESIGN: THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES THE CURRENT FINDINGS ON THE NEPHROGENIC POTENTIAL OF AMNIOTIC FLUID STEM (AFS) CELLS AND THEIR PUTATIVE IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL APPLICATIONS AND FOR STUDIES ON SPECIFIC HUMAN GENETIC DISEASES. RESULTS: SINCE THEIR DISCOVERY IN 2003, AFS CELLS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE PLURIPOTENT WITH THE POTENTIAL TO FORM EMBRYOID BODIES. COMPARED TO ADULT STEM CELLS, INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS OR EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS, AFS CELLS HARBOUR A VARIETY OF ADVANTAGES, SUCH AS THEIR HIGH DIFFERENTIATION AND PROLIFERATIVE POTENTIAL, NO NEED FOR ECTOPIC INDUCTION OF PLURIPOTENCY AND NO SOMATIC MUTATIONS AND EPIGENETIC MEMORY OF SOURCE CELLS, AND NO TUMOURIGENIC POTENTIAL AND ASSOCIATED ETHICAL CONTROVERSIES, RESPECTIVELY. CONCLUSIONS: RECENTLY, THE RESULTS OF DIFFERENT INDEPENDENT STUDIES PROVIDED EVIDENCE THAT AFS CELLS COULD INDEED BE A POWERFUL TOOL FOR RENAL REGENERATIVE MEDICINE. 2012 9 307 33 ALBUMINURIA DOWNREGULATION OF THE ANTI-AGING FACTOR KLOTHO: THE MISSING LINK POTENTIALLY EXPLAINING THE ASSOCIATION OF PATHOLOGICAL ALBUMINURIA WITH PREMATURE DEATH. TEN PERCENT OF THE ADULT POPULATION HAS CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), WHICH IS DIAGNOSED WHEN THE GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (GFR) IS BELOW 60 ML/MIN PER 1.73 M(2) OR WHEN ALBUMINURIA IS ABOVE 30 MG/DAY. THE NUMERICAL THRESHOLDS WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED RISK OF CKD PROGRESSION OR PREMATURE DEATH WITHIN A WIDER SCENARIO OF ACCELERATED AGING. INDEED, CKD IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING CAUSES OF DEATH WORLDWIDE. A DECREASED GFR IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCUMULATION OF URAEMIC TOXINS THAT MAY PROMOTE TISSUE AND ORGAN DAMAGE. HOWEVER, CKD MAY BE DIAGNOSED WHEN THE GFR IS COMPLETELY NORMAL, AS LONG AS THERE IS PATHOLOGICAL ALBUMINURIA. A KEY UNANSWERED QUESTION TO STEM THE RISE OF CKD-ASSOCIATED DEATHS IS WHETHER THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ISOLATED ALBUMINURIA (WHEN THE GFR IS NORMAL) AND PREMATURE DEATH IS CAUSAL. THE RECENT DEMONSTRATION THAT ALBUMINURIA PER SE DIRECTLY SUPPRESSES THE PRODUCTION OF THE ANTI-AGING FACTOR KLOTHO BY KIDNEY TUBULAR CELLS MAY BE ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS TO ADDRESS THE CAUSALITY OF THE ALBUMINURIA-PREMATURE DEATH-ACCELERATED AGING ASSOCIATION. THIS HYPOTHESIS SHOULD BE TESTED IN INTERVENTIONAL STUDIES THAT SHOULD DRAW FROM TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE ADVANCES. THUS, THE OBSERVATION THAT ALBUMINURIA DECREASES KLOTHO PRODUCTION THROUGH EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IMPLIES THAT KLOTHO DOWNREGULATION MAY PERSIST AFTER THE CORRECTION OF ALBUMINURIA, AND INNOVATIVE THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES ARE NEEDED TO RESTORE KLOTHO PRODUCTION. ON THE BASIS OF RECENT LITERATURE, THESE MAY INCLUDE MANIPULATION OF NF-KAPPAB REGULATORS SUCH AS B CELL LYMPHOMA 3 PROTEIN (BCL-3), AND EPIGENETIC REGULATORS SUCH AS HISTONE DEACETYLASES, OR THE REPURPOSING OF DRUGS SUCH AS PENTOXIFYLLINE. 2020 10 1034 34 CKD IN ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) IS ONE COMPONENT OF A SPECTRUM OF CHRONIC DISEASE IN ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS. CKD IS MARKED BY ALBUMINURIA, WHICH PREDICTS RENAL FAILURE AND NONRENAL NATURAL DEATH. RATES VARY GREATLY BY COMMUNITY AND REGION AND ARE MUCH HIGHER IN REMOTE AREAS. THIS REFLECTS THE HETEROGENEOUS CHARACTERISTICS AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE. CKD IS MULTIDETERMINANT, AND EARLY-LIFE INFLUENCES (NOTABLY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT), INFECTIONS (INCLUDING POSTSTREPTOCOCCAL GLOMERULONEPHRITIS), METABOLIC/HEMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS, AND EPIGENETIC/GENETIC FACTORS PROBABLY CONTRIBUTE. CKD IS ASSOCIATED INTIMATELY WITH CARDIOVASCULAR RISK. ALBUMINURIA PROGRESSES OVER TIME, WITH A HIGH INCIDENCE OF NEW ONSET OF PATHOLOGIC LEVELS OF ALBUMINURIA IN ALL AGE GROUPS. ALL THE USUAL MORPHOLOGIC FINDINGS ARE FOUND IN RENAL BIOPSY SPECIMENS. HOWEVER, GLOMERULAR ENLARGEMENT IS NOTABLE IN INDIVIDUALS FROM REMOTE REGIONS, BUT NOT THOSE LIVING CLOSER TO POPULATION CENTERS. GLOMERULOMEGALY PROBABLY REPRESENTS COMPENSATORY HYPERTROPHY CAUSED BY LOW NEPHRON NUMBER, WHICH PROBABLY UNDERLIES THE ACCENTUATED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO RENAL DISEASE. IN THE LAST DECADE, HEALTH CARE SERVICES HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED TO ACCOMMODATE SYSTEMATIC CHRONIC DISEASE SURVEILLANCE AND MANAGEMENT. AFTER A RELENTLESS INCREASE FOR 3 DECADES, RATES OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE STARTING RENAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY, AS WELL AS CHRONIC DISEASE DEATHS, APPEAR TO BE STABILIZING IN SOME REGIONS. OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENT OF THESE SYSTEM CHANGES, PLUS ONGOING REDUCTIONS IN THE INCIDENCE OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT AND INFECTIONS, HOLD PROMISE FOR CONTINUED BETTER OUTCOMES. 2010 11 3095 33 GENOMIC APPROACHES IN THE SEARCH FOR MOLECULAR BIOMARKERS IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) IS RECOGNISED AS A GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM, MORE PREVALENT IN OLDER PERSONS AND ASSOCIATED WITH MULTIPLE CO-MORBIDITIES. DIABETES MELLITUS AND HYPERTENSION ARE COMMON AETIOLOGIES FOR CKD, BUT IGA GLOMERULONEPHRITIS, MEMBRANOUS GLOMERULONEPHRITIS, LUPUS NEPHRITIS AND AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE ARE ALSO COMMON CAUSES OF CKD. MAIN BODY: CONVENTIONAL BIOMARKERS FOR CKD INVOLVING THE USE OF ESTIMATED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (EGFR) DERIVED FROM FOUR VARIABLES (SERUM CREATININE, AGE, GENDER AND ETHNICITY) ARE RECOMMENDED BY CLINICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE EVALUATION, CLASSIFICATION, AND STRATIFICATION OF CKD. HOWEVER, THESE CLINICAL BIOMARKERS PRESENT SOME LIMITATIONS, ESPECIALLY FOR EARLY STAGES OF CKD, ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS, EXTREME BODY MASS INDEX VALUES (SERUM CREATININE), OR ARE INFLUENCED BY INFLAMMATION, STEROID TREATMENT AND THYROID DYSFUNCTION (SERUM CYSTATIN C). THERE IS THEREFORE A NEED TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL NON-INVASIVE BIOMARKERS THAT ARE USEFUL IN CLINICAL PRACTICE TO HELP IMPROVE CKD DIAGNOSIS, INFORM PROGNOSIS AND GUIDE THERAPEUTIC MANAGEMENT. CONCLUSION: CKD IS A MULTIFACTORIAL DISEASE WITH ASSOCIATED GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS. HENCE, MANY STUDIES HAVE EMPLOYED GENETIC, EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC APPROACHES TO IDENTIFY BIOMARKERS FOR KIDNEY DISEASE. IN THIS REVIEW, WE HAVE SUMMARISED THE MOST IMPORTANT STUDIES IN HUMANS INVESTIGATING GENOMIC BIOMARKERS FOR CKD IN THE LAST DECADE. SEVERAL GENES, INCLUDING UMOD, SHROOM3 AND ELMO1 HAVE BEEN STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH RENAL DISEASES, AND SOME OF THEIR TRAITS, SUCH AS EGFR AND SERUM CREATININE. THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC BIOMARKERS IN CKD AND RELATED DISEASES IS STILL UNCLEAR. THE COMBINATION OF MULTIPLE BIOMARKERS INTO CLASSIFIERS, INCLUDING GENOMIC, AND/OR EPIGENOMIC, MAY GIVE A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE OF KIDNEY DISEASES. 2018 12 2148 31 EPIGENETIC MARKERS OF RENAL FUNCTION IN AFRICAN AMERICANS. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) IS AN INCREASING CONCERN IN THE UNITED STATES DUE TO ITS RAPIDLY RISING PREVALENCE, PARTICULARLY AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS. EPIGENETIC DNA METHYLATION MARKERS ARE BECOMING IMPORTANT BIOMARKERS OF CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS CKD. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THESE METHYLATION MARKERS PLAY A ROLE IN KIDNEY FUNCTION, WE MEASURED 26,428 DNA METHYLATION SITES IN 972 AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM THE GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY NETWORK OF ARTERIOPATHY (GENOA) STUDY. WE THEN EVALUATED (1) WHETHER EPIGENETIC MARKERS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ESTIMATED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (EGFR), (2) WHETHER THE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED MARKERS ARE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH TRADITIONAL RISK FACTORS AND/OR NOVEL BIOMARKERS FOR EGFR, AND (3) HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL VARIATION IN EGFR IS EXPLAINED BY EPIGENETIC MARKERS BEYOND ESTABLISHED RISK FACTORS AND BIOMARKERS. THE MAJORITY OF METHYLATION MARKERS MOST SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH EGFR (24 OUT OF THE TOP 30) APPEARED TO FUNCTION, AT LEAST IN PART, THROUGH PATHWAYS RELATED TO AGING, INFLAMMATION, OR CHOLESTEROL. HOWEVER, SIX EPIGENETIC MARKERS WERE STILL ABLE TO SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICT EGFR AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR OTHER RISK FACTORS. THIS WORK SHOWS THAT EPIGENETIC MARKERS MAY OFFER VALUABLE NEW INSIGHT INTO THE COMPLEX PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CKD IN AFRICAN AMERICANS. 2013 13 6648 29 UPDATE ON DIAGNOSIS, PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, AND MANAGEMENT OF DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE. DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE (DKD) IS A CHRONIC COMPLICATION OF DIABETES MELLITUS WHICH MAY EVENTUALLY LEAD TO END-STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE (ESKD). DESPITE IMPROVEMENTS IN GLYCAEMIC CONTROL AND BLOOD PRESSURE MANAGEMENT WITH RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN-ALDOSTERONE SYSTEM (RAAS) BLOCKADE, THE CURRENT THERAPY CANNOT COMPLETELY HALT DKD PROGRESSION TO ESKD IN SOME PATIENTS. DKD IS A HETEROGENEOUS DISEASE ENTITY IN TERMS OF ITS CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS, HISTOPATHOLOGY AND THE RATE OF PROGRESSION, WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE THERAPEUTICS. IT WAS FORMERLY CONSIDERED THAT ALBUMINURIA PRECEDED KIDNEY FUNCTION DECLINE IN DKD, BUT RECENT EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES REVEALED THAT A DISTINCT GROUP OF PATIENTS PRESENTED KIDNEY DYSFUNCTION WITHOUT DEVELOPING ALBUMINURIA. OTHER COMORBIDITIES, SUCH AS HYPERTENSION, OBESITY AND GOUT, ALSO AFFECT THE CLINICAL COURSE OF DKD. THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF DKD IS COMPLEX AND MULTIFACTORIAL, INVOLVING BOTH METABOLIC AND HAEMODYNAMIC FACTORS. THESE INDUCE ACTIVATION OF INTRACELLULAR SIGNALLING PATHWAYS, OXIDATIVE STRESS, HYPOXIA, DYSREGULATED AUTOPHAGY AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES, WHICH RESULT IN KIDNEY INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS. RECENTLY, TWO GROUPS OF ANTIDIABETIC DRUGS, SODIUM-GLUCOSE COTRANSPORTER 2 (SGLT2) INHIBITORS AND GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1 (GLP-1) RECEPTOR AGONISTS, WERE DEMONSTRATED TO PROVIDE RENOPROTECTION ON TOP OF THEIR GLUCOSE-LOWERING EFFECTS. SEVERAL OTHER THERAPEUTIC AGENTS ARE ALSO BEING DEVELOPED AND EVALUATED IN CLINICAL TRIALS. 2021 14 1388 29 DIABETIC PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE: NON-INVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK. THE PREVALENCE AND BURDEN OF DIABETES MELLITUS AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE ON GLOBAL HEALTH AND SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS ALREADY HEAVY AND STILL RISING. DIABETES MELLITUS BY ITSELF IS LINKED TO ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS, AND THE PRESENCE OF CONCOMITANT CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE FURTHER AMPLIFIES CARDIOVASCULAR RISK. THE CULMINATION OF TRADITIONAL (MALE GENDER, SMOKING, ADVANCED AGE, OBESITY, ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND DYSLIPIDEMIA) AND NON-TRADITIONAL RISK FACTORS (ANEMIA, INFLAMMATION, PROTEINURIA, VOLUME OVERLOAD, MINERAL METABOLISM ABNORMALITIES, OXIDATIVE STRESS, ETC.) CONTRIBUTES TO ADVANCED ATHEROSCLEROSIS AND INCREASED CARDIOVASCULAR RISK. TO DECREASE THE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY OF THESE PATIENTS DUE TO CARDIOVASCULAR CAUSES, TIMELY AND EFFICIENT CARDIOVASCULAR RISK ASSESSMENT IS OF HUGE IMPORTANCE. CARDIOVASCULAR RISK ASSESSMENT CAN BE BASED ON LABORATORY PARAMETERS, IMAGING TECHNIQUES, ARTERIAL STIFFNESS PARAMETERS, ANKLE-BRACHIAL INDEX AND 24 H BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS. NEWER METHODS INCLUDE EPIGENETIC MARKERS, SOLUBLE ADHESION MOLECULES, CYTOKINES AND MARKERS OF OXIDATIVE STRESS. IN THIS REVIEW, THE AUTHORS PRESENT SEVERAL NON-INVASIVE METHODS OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK ASSESSMENT IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. 2021 15 3502 43 IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES: PROTOCOL FOR A CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY. BACKGROUND: THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTIFYING PEOPLE WITH DIABETES AND PROGRESSIVE KIDNEY DYSFUNCTION RELATES TO THE EXCESS MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY OF THIS GROUP. RATES OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE ARE MUCH HIGHER IN PEOPLE WITH BOTH DIABETES AND KIDNEY DYSFUNCTION THAN IN THOSE WITH ONLY ONE OF THESE CONDITIONS. BY THE TIME THESE PEOPLE ARE IDENTIFIED IN CURRENT CLINICAL PRACTICE, PROTEINURIA AND RENAL DYSFUNCTION ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED, LIMITING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. THE IDENTIFICATION OF AN EPIGENETIC OR BLOOD METABOLITE SIGNATURE OR GUT MICROBIOME PROFILE MAY IDENTIFY THOSE WITH DIABETES AT RISK OF PROGRESSIVE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, IN TURN PROVIDING TARGETED INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMS TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS IN PEOPLE WITH DIABETES AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) ASSOCIATED WITH PROGRESSIVE RENAL INJURY AND TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN STAGES OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. THREE SOURCES OF BIOMARKERS WILL BE EXPLORED, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION PROFILES IN BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES, THE METABOLOMIC PROFILE OF BLOOD-DERIVED PLASMA AND URINE, AND THE GUT MICROBIOME. METHODS: THE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY RECRUITED 121 PEOPLE WITH DIABETES AND VARYING STAGES (STAGES 1-5) OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. SINGLE-POINT DATA COLLECTION INCLUDED BLOOD, URINE, AND FECAL SAMPLES IN ADDITION TO CLINICAL DATA SUCH AS ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM MEDICAL RECORDS INCLUDED PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS, MEDICAL COMORBIDITIES, AND MEDICATIONS. RESULTS: DATA COLLECTION COMMENCED IN JANUARY 2018 AND WAS COMPLETED IN JUNE 2018. AT THE TIME OF SUBMISSION, 121 PATIENTS HAD BEEN RECRUITED, AND 119 SAMPLES REMAINED AFTER QUALITY CONTROL. THERE WERE 83 PARTICIPANTS IN THE EARLY DIABETES-ASSOCIATED CKD GROUP WITH A MEAN ESTIMATED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (EGFR) OF 61.2 ML/MIN/1.73 M2 (EARLY CKD GROUP CONSISTING OF STAGE 1, 2, AND 3A CKD), AND 36 PARTICIPANTS IN THE LATE DIABETIC CKD GROUP WITH A MEAN EGFR OF 23.9 ML/MIN/1.73 M2 (LATE CKD GROUP, CONSISTING OF STAGE 3B, 4, AND 5), P<.001. WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY OBTAINED DNA FOR METHYLATION AND MICROBIOME ANALYSES USING THE BIOSPECIMENS COLLECTED VIA THIS PROTOCOL AND ARE CURRENTLY ANALYZING THESE RESULTS TOGETHER WITH THE METABOLOME OF THIS COHORT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETIC CKD. CONCLUSIONS: RECENT ADVANCES HAVE IMPROVED OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE EPIGENOME, METABOLOMICS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE GUT MICROBIOME ON THE INCIDENCE OF DISEASES SUCH AS CANCERS, PARTICULARLY THOSE RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES. HOWEVER, THERE IS A PAUCITY OF LITERATURE SURROUNDING THESE INFLUENCERS IN RENAL DISEASE. THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CKD IN INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES, ESPECIALLY IN NOVEL AREAS SUCH AS EPIGENETICS, METABOLOMICS, AND THE KIDNEY-GUT AXIS. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/16277. 2020 16 5846 36 STUDY PROTOCOL: RATIONALE AND DESIGN OF THE COMMUNITY-BASED PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY OF KIDNEY FUNCTION AND DIABETES IN RURAL NEW MEXICO, THE COMPASS STUDY. BACKGROUND: RURAL AREAS IN THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO HAVE BEEN THE "GROUND-ZERO" FOR THE EPIDEMIC OF DIABETIC CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) IN THE UNITED STATES. HOWEVER, THERE IS LIMITED RESEARCH ABOUT RISK FACTORS OF DIABETIC CKD IN THIS AREA AND SCARCE DATA REGARDING THE PERFORMANCE OF EMERGING MARKERS OF RENAL FILTRATION AND EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS OF RENAL FUNCTION AND DIABETES IN THIS AREA WITH ITS UNIQUE ETHNIC/RACIAL POPULATION. WE DESIGNED THE COMPASS STUDY AS A COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAM IN RURAL NEW MEXICO AIMING TO SCREEN FOR CKD AND TO DISCOVER CKD-RELATED TRANSLATIONAL BIOMARKERS. METHODS/DESIGN: THE STUDY INVOLVES A PROSPECTIVE, LONGITUDINAL COHORT DESIGN INVOLVING INDIVIDUALS LIVING IN RURAL NEW MEXICO. PARTICIPANTS UNDERGO A SCREENING FOR KIDNEY DISEASE USING MARKERS OF ABNORMAL RENAL FILTRATION (IMPAIRED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE) OR DAMAGE (ALBUMINURIA). THOSE FOUND TO HAVE CKD ON THE BASIS OF THESE TESTS OR THOSE AT RISK FOR CKD ARE ENROLLED IN A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL COHORT. WE MEASURE MARKERS OF RENAL FUNCTION, INSULIN RESISTANCE AND EPIGENETICS (MICRORNAS) ON PATIENTS. INDIVIDUALS ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS IN ORDER TO CHARACTERIZE THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARDS RESEARCH AND BARRIERS OR FACILITATORS TO PARTICIPATION IN FUTURE RESEARCH STUDIES ABOUT KIDNEY DISEASE. DISCUSSION: THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT DATA ABOUT THE LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF KIDNEY DISEASE IN A HIGH-RISK RURAL SETTING AND THE UTILITY OF EMERGING RENAL FILTRATION MARKERS (BETA 2 MICROGLOBULIN AND CYSTATIN C), WHILE GENERATING DATA AND METHODS FOR THE ANALYSES OF MICRORNA BIOMARKERS. THE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH SUBPROJECT WILL IDENTIFY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE IN FUTURE TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECTS. WITH ITS GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS, THIS STUDY WILL ADDRESS A CRITICAL DISPARITY IN KIDNEY DISEASE RESEARCH, WHILE GENERATING NOVEL EPIGENETIC DATA THAT ARE RELEVANT FOR FUTURE STUDIES IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. 2018 17 1785 26 EFFECT OF APABETALONE ON CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS IN DIABETES, CKD, AND RECENT ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME: RESULTS FROM THE BETONMACE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: CKD AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS INTERACT TO INCREASE THE RISK OF MAJOR ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS (I.E., CARDIOVASCULAR DEATH, NONFATAL MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION, OR STROKE) AND CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE. A MALADAPTIVE EPIGENETIC RESPONSE MAY BE A CARDIOVASCULAR RISK DRIVER AND AMENABLE TO MODIFICATION WITH APABETALONE, A SELECTIVE MODULATOR OF THE BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL DOMAIN TRANSCRIPTION SYSTEM. WE EXAMINED THIS QUESTION IN A PRESPECIFIED ANALYSIS OF BETONMACE, A PHASE 3 TRIAL. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: BETONMACE WAS AN EVENT-DRIVEN, RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARING EFFECTS OF APABETALONE VERSUS PLACEBO ON MAJOR ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS AND HEART FAILURE HOSPITALIZATIONS IN 2425 PARTICIPANTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES AND A RECENT ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME, INCLUDING 288 PARTICIPANTS WITH CKD WITH EGFR <60 ML/MIN PER 1.73 M(2) AT BASELINE. THE PRIMARY END POINT IN BETONMACE WAS THE TIME TO THE FIRST MAJOR ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR EVENT, WITH A SECONDARY END POINT OF TIME TO HOSPITALIZATION FOR HEART FAILURE. RESULTS: MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP WAS 27 MONTHS (INTERQUARTILE RANGE, 20-32 MONTHS). IN PARTICIPANTS WITH CKD, APABETALONE COMPARED WITH PLACEBO WAS ASSOCIATED WITH FEWER MAJOR ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS (13 EVENTS IN 124 PATIENTS [11%] VERSUS 35 EVENTS IN 164 PATIENTS [21%]; HAZARD RATIO, 0.50; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, 0.26 TO 0.96) AND FEWER HEART FAILURE-RELATED HOSPITALIZATIONS (THREE HOSPITALIZATIONS IN 124 PATIENTS [3%] VERSUS 14 HOSPITALIZATIONS IN 164 PATIENTS [9%]; HAZARD RATIO, 0.48; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, 0.26 TO 0.86). IN THE NON-CKD GROUP, THE CORRESPONDING HAZARD RATIO VALUES WERE 0.96 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, 0.74 TO 1.24) FOR MAJOR ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS, AND 0.76 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, 0.46 TO 1.27) FOR HEART FAILURE-RELATED HOSPITALIZATION. INTERACTION OF CKD ON TREATMENT EFFECT WAS P=0.03 FOR MAJOR ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS, AND P=0.12 FOR HEART FAILURE-RELATED HOSPITALIZATION. PARTICIPANTS WITH CKD SHOWED SIMILAR NUMBERS OF ADVERSE EVENTS, REGARDLESS OF RANDOMIZATION TO APABETALONE OR PLACEBO (119 [73%] VERSUS 88 [71%] PATIENTS), AND THERE WERE FEWER SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS (29% VERSUS 43%; P=0.02) IN THE APABETALONE GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: APABETALONE MAY REDUCE THE INCIDENCE OF MAJOR ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS IN PATIENTS WITH CKD AND TYPE 2 DIABETES WHO HAVE A HIGH BURDEN OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. 2021 18 6446 38 THERAPEUTIC INSIGHTS IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE PROGRESSION. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A LEADING PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM WORLDWIDE. THROUGH ITS EFFECT ON CARDIOVASCULAR RISK AND END-STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE, CKD DIRECTLY AFFECTS THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. CLASSICAL OPTIMAL MANAGEMENT OF CKD INCLUDES BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL, TREATMENT OF ALBUMINURIA WITH ANGIOTENSIN-CONVERTING ENZYME INHIBITORS OR ANGIOTENSIN II RECEPTOR BLOCKERS, AVOIDANCE OF POTENTIAL NEPHROTOXINS AND OBESITY, DRUG DOSING ADJUSTMENTS, AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK REDUCTION. DIABETES MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN HALF OF CKD BURDEN, AND OBESITY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PROMPTED FACTOR FOR THIS DISEASE. NEW ANTIHYPERGLYCEMIC DRUGS, SUCH AS SODIUM-GLUCOSE-COTRANSPORTER 2 INHIBITORS HAVE SHOWN TO SLOW THE DECLINE OF GFR, BRINGING ADDITIONAL BENEFIT IN WEIGHT REDUCTION, CARDIOVASCULAR, AND OTHER KIDNEY OUTCOMES. ON THE OTHER HAND, A NEW GENERATION OF NON-STEROIDAL MINERALOCORTICOID RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST HAS RECENTLY BEEN DEVELOPED TO OBTAIN A SELECTIVE RECEPTOR INHIBITION REDUCING SIDE EFFECTS LIKE HYPERKALEMIA AND THEREBY MAKING THE DRUGS SUITABLE FOR ADMINISTRATION TO CKD PATIENTS. MOREOVER, TWO NEW POTASSIUM-LOWERING THERAPIES HAVE SHOWN TO IMPROVE TOLERANCE, ALLOWING FOR HIGHER DOSAGE OF RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN SYSTEM INHIBITORS AND THEREFORE ENHANCING THEIR NEPHROPROTECTIVE EFFECT. REGARDLESS OF ITS CAUSE, CKD IS CHARACTERIZED BY REDUCED RENAL REGENERATION CAPACITY, MICROVASCULAR DAMAGE, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATION, RESULTING IN FIBROSIS AND PROGRESSIVE, AND IRREVERSIBLE NEPHRON LOSS. THEREFORE, A HOLISTIC APPROACH SHOULD BE TAKEN TARGETING THE DIVERSE PROCESSES AND BIOLOGICAL CONTEXTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CKD PROGRESSION. TO DATE, THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS WHEN TUBULOINTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS IS ALREADY ESTABLISHED HAVE PROVED TO BE INSUFFICIENT, THUS RESEARCH EFFORT SHOULD FOCUS ON UNRAVELING EARLY DISEASE MECHANISMS. AN ARRAY OF NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TARGETING EPIGENETIC REGULATORS ARE NOW UNDERGOING PHASE II OR PHASE III TRIALS AND MIGHT PROVIDE A SIMULTANEOUS REGULATORY ACTIVITY THAT COORDINATELY REGULATE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF CKD PROGRESSION. 2021 19 5363 20 RECENT ADVANCES IN DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASES: FROM KIDNEY INJURY TO KIDNEY FIBROSIS. DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE (DKD) IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE AND END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DKD INCLUDES GLOMERULAR HYPERFILTRATION, PROGRESSIVE ALBUMINURIA, DECLINING ESTIMATED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE, AND, ULTIMATELY, KIDNEY FAILURE. IT IS KNOWN THAT DKD IS ASSOCIATED WITH METABOLIC CHANGES CAUSED BY HYPERGLYCEMIA, RESULTING IN GLOMERULAR HYPERTROPHY, GLOMERULOSCLEROSIS, AND TUBULOINTERSTITIAL INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS. HYPERGLYCEMIA IS ALSO KNOWN TO CAUSE PROGRAMMED EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION. HOWEVER, THE DETAILED MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE ONSET AND PROGRESSION OF DKD REMAIN ELUSIVE. IN THIS REVIEW, WE DISCUSS RECENT ADVANCES REGARDING THE PATHOGENIC MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN DKD. 2021 20 932 29 CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE WITH UNKNOWN CAUSE ACROSS THE GLOBAL SPECTRUM. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: IN THE 1990S, A TYPE OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE WITH UNKNOWN CAUSE (CKDU) WAS IDENTIFIED IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND SRI LANKA. PATIENTS LACKED HYPERTENSION, DIABETES, GLOMERULONEPHRITIS, OR OTHER USUAL CAUSES OF KIDNEY FAILURE. AFFECTED PATIENTS ARE PREDOMINANTLY MALE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS AGED 20-60 YEARS, LIVING IN ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED AREAS WITH POOR ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE. PATIENTS TYPICALLY PRESENT LATE AND PROGRESS TO END-STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE WITHIN 5 YEARS, RESULTING IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HARDSHIP FOR FAMILIES, REGIONS, AND COUNTRIES. THIS REVIEW COVERS THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THIS DISEASE. RECENT FINDINGS: THE PREVALENCE OF CKDU IS INCREASING IN KNOWN ENDEMIC REGIONS AND ACROSS THE GLOBE, REACHING EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS. THERE IS PRIMARY TUBULOINTERSTITIAL INJURY WITH SECONDARY GLOMERULAR AND VASCULAR SCLEROSIS. NO DEFINITIVE ETIOLOGIC FACTORS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, AND THESE MAY VARY OR OVERLAP IN DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS. THE LEADING HYPOTHESES INCLUDE EXPOSURE TO AGROCHEMICALS, HEAVY METALS AND TRACE ELEMENTS, AND KIDNEY INJURY FROM DEHYDRATION/HEAT STRESS. INFECTIONS AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS MAY PLAY A ROLE, BUT ARE LIKELY NOT KEY. GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS ARE BEGINNING TO BE EXPLORED. SUMMARY: CKDU IS A LEADING CAUSE OF PREMATURE DEATH IN YOUNG-TO-MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS IN ENDEMIC REGIONS AND HAS BECOME A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. STUDIES ARE UNDERWAY TO INVESTIGATE CLINICAL, EXPOSOME, AND OMICS FACTORS, AND HOPEFULLY WILL PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO PATHOGENETIC MECHANISMS RESULTING IN BIOMARKER DISCOVERY, PREVENTIVE MEASURES, AND THERAPEUTICS. 2023