Renal Week to Highlight Latest Developments in Kidney Disease

November 17, 2010 — The American Society of Nephrology (ASN)'s upcoming Renal Week 2010 is set to feature in-depth scientific exchange and groundbreaking research in basic, translational, and clinical sciences concerning kidney disease.

Key issues expected to generate vigorous discussion at the event include research on how physicians can improve patient outcomes on dialysis, genetic factors that might increase the incidence of end-stage renal disease in African Americans, and the way novel biomarkers contribute to the detection and care of acute kidney injury.

The Late-Breaking Clinical Trial session, one of the meeting's major events, will focus on the latest research developments pertaining to nephrology, said ASN program committee chair David Ellison, MD, FASN, in an interview with Medscape Medical News.

"Six groundbreaking trials of various treatment approaches to kidney disease will be presented in the Late-Breaking Clinical Trial session," said Dr. Ellison, who is the head of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

"The studies are all likely to influence how kidney disease is treated, and will have direct impact on patient care immediately," he predicted. They are:

• Effects of Nocturnal Home Hemodialysis: The Frequent Hemodialysis Network Trials
• Effect of Bardoxolone Methyl on Renal Function in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
• Results of the Multicenter [Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis] Clinical Trial in Children and Young Adults
• Primary Safety and Efficacy Results from Four Phase 3 Randomized, Active-Controlled, Open-Label Studies of Hematide/Peginesatide Among CKD Dialysis and Nondialysis Patients
• Prevention of Dialysis Catheter Lumen Occlusion With rt-PA vs Heparin (Pre-CLOT): A Randomized Trial
• Should We Reduce [Low-Density-Lipoprotein] Cholesterol in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease? The Results of the Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP)

The conference will also feature talks by internationally recognized scientists who have been invited to present 4 State-of-the-Art Lectures, Dr. Ellison added.

"The talks will range from one by Harlan Krumholz [MD, SM, from Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut] discussing how to combine clinical practice and scholarship in pursuit of improved patient outcomes, to one by Elaine Ostrander [PhD, from the National Institutes of Health's National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland] who will discuss the genetic basis of dog phenotypes ranging from size to coat color."

In addition, Michael J. Welsh, MD, from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in New York City, will discuss his groundbreaking work entitled Cystic Fibrosis: Development and Lessons on the Pig Model, and Charles A. Dinarello, MD, from the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Colorado at Denver, will give a lecture entitled Interleukins and Human Disease.

A third major event of the conference will be the "Meeting-Within-a-Meeting" program, which will bring together physicians and scientists interested in specific topics. This year's sessions will focus on 4 key areas: epithelial transport and cell biology, renal immunology and transplantation, new insights into glomerular structure and function, and kidney development and stem cells.

One prominent issue expected to be addressed in lectures and discourse throughout Renal Week will be the changing role of reimbursement in dialysis, Dr. Ellison noted. "In light of changes in reimbursement for dialysis, we expect a great deal of attention to be focused on how to improve quality while reducing costs."

The conference is being held November 16 to 21 in Denver, Colorado, and organizers expect strong attendance from an international array of nephrology specialists.

"The meeting is truly international, with strong representation from Asia, Europe, and South America, as well as from the United States," Dr. Ellison said. "We expect approximately 13,000 people to attend the meeting, at least as many as have attended in the past."