Decline is not inevitable.
A daily, evidence-graded view of everything moving in kidney research : the drugs that slow decline, the science of regeneration, and the mind-body work.
Kidney-protecting diabetes drugs are a big theme today: GLP-1 medicines (the Ozempic family) and SGLT2 inhibitors like dapagliflozin, which looked helpful even in children. Blood pressure drugs called RAS blockers were also tied to fewer new cases of kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes. Most of the rest of today's sweep is early research just getting started, so there are few new results yet.
Safety and efficacy of glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonism-based therapies in end-stage renal disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
This combines many studies (a meta-analysis) of GLP-1 drugs, the class that includes Ozempic, in people with kidney failure, including those on dialysis. It weighed how safe and how effective these drugs are for this group. Pooling many studies is the strongest kind of evidence for whether they can be used safely here.
Effect of semaglutide on kidney outcomes in the SELECT, FLOW, and SOUL trials: a prespecified pooled analysis.
This pooled three large trials, called SELECT, FLOW, and SOUL, to measure how the drug semaglutide affects the kidneys. It checked whether semaglutide protects kidney health over time. Pooling big trials like this gives strong evidence.
Spectrum of Anti–Factor B-Associated Glomerular Diseases in Adults
Some people make antibodies that attack part of their own immune system called factor B, which can damage the kidney's tiny filters. Researchers described which kidney diseases these antibodies cause in adults and how the patterns differ. This was an observational study, so it shows links, not proof of cause.
Retinal Changes in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Study Correlated with Biochemical Parameters.
Researchers used an eye scan called OCT to look at the retina, the light-sensing layer at the back of the eye, in people with chronic kidney disease. They found retinal changes that tracked with blood-test markers of kidney damage. This was an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof that one causes the other.
Urinary Dickkopf-3 reflects renal and vascular damage in diabetic kidney disease: A cross-sectional study.
This study measured a protein called Dickkopf-3 in the urine of people with diabetic kidney disease. Higher levels tracked with more damage to the kidneys and blood vessels. It was a snapshot-in-time (cross-sectional) study, so it shows a link, not proof of cause.
Treatment outcomes and safety of telitacicept in reducing proteinuria and hematuria for refractory childhood IgA vasculitis nephritis
This looked at a drug called telitacicept in children with a hard-to-treat kidney inflammation (IgA vasculitis nephritis). It tracked whether the drug lowered protein and blood in the urine, which are signs of kidney damage. It followed patients given the drug rather than running a randomized trial, so it shows a link, not firm proof.
Implementation of KDIGO CKD Screening and Its Prognostic Implications in Community-Dwelling Adults Aged 75 Years or Older: A Population-Based Cohort Study
This rolled out standard kidney-disease screening (the KDIGO checkup) for community-living adults aged 75 and older, then followed what happened to them. It looked at how well the screening predicted later health problems in this age group. It is an observational study, so it shows links, not proof of cause.
Asymptomatic kidney changes discovered during occupational health screening: age-dependent trends from a large cohort
In a large group of workers screened at their jobs, quiet kidney changes with no symptoms became more common with age. This shows a pattern in a population; it does not prove what causes the changes. It is a reminder that early kidney problems often have no warning signs.
Dapagliflozin preserves kidney function and reduces albuminuria in children with chronic kidney disease
This study looked at dapagliflozin, a diabetes and kidney drug, in children with chronic kidney disease. It reported steadier kidney function and less protein in the urine. Because it was not a large randomized test, it points to a benefit rather than proving one.
Prevention of new-onset chronic kidney disease with renin–angiotensin system blockers in type 2 diabetes with preserved kidney function
In people with type 2 diabetes whose kidneys still worked normally, taking blood-pressure drugs called RAS blockers (ACE inhibitors or ARBs) was linked to fewer new cases of chronic kidney disease. This kind of study shows a link, not firm proof of cause. Still, it supports using these drugs early to protect kidneys.
Calcineurin inhibitor versus mycophenolate mofetil along with rituximab in non-genetic calcineurin inhibitor resistant steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome: retrospective observation from western India
This study compared two treatments in people whose nephrotic syndrome did not get better with steroids. One group got a drug called a calcineurin inhibitor; the other got mycophenolate plus rituximab. It looked back at past patient records in western India, so it shows a link, not proof, and cannot say for sure which treatment is better because patients were not randomly assigned.
A young male with kidney damage from genetic mitochondrial disease: case report and literature review
This is a report of a single young man whose kidneys were damaged by an inherited mitochondrial disease, a problem in the tiny energy factories inside our cells. One person's case can show what is possible, but it cannot prove how common the problem is or how to treat it.
Genetic and environmental risk factors for intracranial aneurysm and subarachnoid haemorrhage among patients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease
This study looked at what raises the risk of a bulge in a brain blood vessel (an aneurysm) and its bursting in people with polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), an inherited disease that fills the kidneys with cysts. It weighed both gene changes and lifestyle factors. Because it only watches patients, it points to links, not proof, and it is a preprint that other scientists have not yet checked.
The Urine Ammonium-pH Index is a Measure of Kidney Tubular Function
Researchers tested a simple urine measure, the urine ammonium-pH index, as a sign of how well the kidney's tiny tubes are working. In their data it matched tube function and helped predict future loss of the kidney's filtering rate. This is an observational preprint, so it shows a link and still needs review by other scientists before it guides care.
Chronic Kidney Disease Mineral and Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD) Medication Titration Practices in Hemodialysis Patients in the US
This study looked at how U.S. doctors adjust the medicines used for bone and mineral problems in dialysis patients. It reviewed records from 23,549 people on in-center dialysis between 2006 and 2015. It describes how much practices differ between doctors, but it does not test which approach leads to better health. It is a preprint, not yet peer reviewed.
Association Between Dietary Magnesium Intake and All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: Insights from NHANES 1999-2018.
This study asked whether people with kidney disease who eat more magnesium live longer. It used a large U.S. health survey covering 1999 to 2018. It found a link between more magnesium in the diet and a lower risk of dying from any cause. This shows a link only, it cannot prove magnesium is the reason.
Integrated Analysis of Zinc, Copper, and Magnesium Homeostasis in Pediatric Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome: A Prospective Cohort Study with Serial Clinical Evaluation
Researchers tracked levels of three minerals, zinc, copper, and magnesium, in children with nephrotic syndrome, a kidney problem that leaks protein into the urine. They followed the children over time and took repeated measurements. This kind of study can show links but cannot prove that mineral changes cause harm.
Change of prognostic nutritional index after three months of initial hemodialysis is a predictor of long-term outcomes for patients with uremia
This study checked whether the change in a combined nutrition-and-immune score (the prognostic nutritional index) during the first three months of dialysis predicts how patients do over the long run. It followed people starting dialysis for kidney failure. As an observational preprint, it shows a link, not proof, and has not yet been peer reviewed.
Podocin Oligomerization links Slit Diaphragm Architecture and NPHS2 Genetics
The kidney's filter is built from tiny cells called podocytes, joined by a sieve called the slit diaphragm that keeps protein in the blood. This study mapped how a protein named podocin clumps together to hold that sieve in shape, and tied it to a gene (NPHS2) linked to kidney disease. It was lab work on the filter's structure, not a test in people.
Heme-induced kallikrein-kinin system activation in hemolytic uremic syndrome
In a disease called hemolytic uremic syndrome, red blood cells break apart and release a substance called heme. This lab study looked at how heme switches on a blood-clotting and inflammation system that may harm the kidneys. It was done in the lab, not in people, so it only points to a possible mechanism.