Kidney research, 2026-08-27
A new drug shows promise for a rare immune disease that attacks the kidneys, but more proof is needed
Today’s research focused on hospital-based and lab studies, not everyday kidney protection strategies. One real-world study looked at avacopan for a rare immune disease affecting the kidneys, while others explored causes of sudden injury or post-transplant issues. Most findings are preliminary—linked to outcomes but not proven to cause them—and none change current treatment advice yet.
Proteinuria and Kidney Function Trajectories in Patients with Advanced CKD: Insights from CRIC and KNOW-CKD Studies.
In 2,727 adults with advanced kidney disease (filtering rate between 15 and 45), higher protein in the urine was linked to faster decline toward kidney failure, but because this is...
Renal outcomes following fundus fluorescein angiography in patients with diabetic nephropathy: Incidence, risk factors and three-month kidney function changes.
In 307 people with diabetic kidney disease who had an eye test using contrast dye, 18% developed sudden kidney injury within two days — higher blood sugar and lower starting kidney...
Early Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitor Use After Acute Kidney Injury in Type 2 Diabetes.
In 12,456 adults with type 2 diabetes who had severe acute kidney injury requiring dialysis, those who started SGLT-2 inhibitors within 30 days after leaving the hospital had a...
XIGDUO XR
XIGDUO XR combines two diabetes drugs—dapagliflozin and metformin—and is approved for adults and children 10+ with type 2 diabetes. Dapagliflozin, one part of this combo, has been...
Redox-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a Common Pathogenic Axis in Acute Kidney Injury and Chronic Kidney Disease.
This is a review article, not a new study, so it reports no results of its own. It pulls together lab research on how the energy-making parts of kidney cells (mitochondria) get...
Renal Effects of Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Diabetic Kidney Disease: A Narrative Review of Mechanisms and Clinical Evidence.
A review of GLP-1 drugs, the same family as Ozempic, for kidney disease caused by diabetes. It summarizes how these drugs act on blood sugar, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol,...
Glycemic Outcomes After Switching from SGLT2 Inhibitors to DPP-4 Inhibitors in Type 2 Diabetes, with a Comparison of Teneligliptin and Other Agents: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Doctors looked back at records of people with type 2 diabetes who stopped SGLT2 inhibitors, often because of side effects, and switched to DPP-4 inhibitors. The study tracked blood...
Mechanisms of Obesity-Related Kidney Disease: From Adipose Depot Biology to the Chymase-Aldosterone and Ghrelin-Leptin Axes.
This review links extra fat tissue—especially around the belly—to kidney damage through inflammation and hormone changes, but it does not prove that losing fat will fix the...
Disease-modifying anti-diabetic drugs (DMADDs): bridging the SIMPLE approach to disease interception.
This review explains how diabetes drugs like SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 agonists help the heart and kidneys beyond lowering sugar, but it does not include new patient data—only...
Cinnamaldehyde Attenuates Hyperuricemia-Associated Renal Injury by Modulating Urate Transporters and AIF1- and CMPK2/NLRP3-Related Inflammatory Signaling.
Cinnamaldehyde, a compound from cinnamon, reduced kidney injury in rats and cells with high uric acid by blocking inflammatory pathways. This work is not yet tested in people, so...
Alpha-Mangostin in Acute Kidney Injury: Molecular Mechanisms, Regulated Cell Death, and Translational Opportunities.
This review describes how oxidative stress and cell death cause acute kidney injury in animals and cells, and how alpha-mangostin (from mangosteen fruit) may block those pathways....
Clinical Anterior Segment and Ocular Surface Findings Across Renal Replacement Modalities: Associations with CKD-Related Factors, Mineral Metabolism and Activin A.
This study found that people on dialysis had more eye surface problems than those with normal kidneys, and these issues were linked to mineral imbalances and high activin A levels....
Atrial Fibrillation and Documented Heart Failure in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: A Secondary Analysis of a Single-Centre Cohort from Western Romania.
This study found that among 395 people hospitalized with COVID-19, those with both atrial fibrillation and heart failure had worse outcomes—but since it is observational, it does...
Implementation of KDIGO CKD Screening and Its Prognostic Implications in Community-Dwelling Adults Aged 75 Years or Older: A Population-Based Cohort Study.
This study followed over 10,000 adults aged 75 or older and found that those with both low kidney filtering rate (eGFR) and protein in the urine had a much higher risk of dying...
Comparative Effectiveness of Combination Therapy in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease and Diabetes mellitus Type 2 using Real World Data.
Researchers used a large US database of real patient records to compare drug combinations in people who have both kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. Everyone was on the standard...
Effect of renal denervation in chronic kidney disease: a systematic review, time-stratified meta-analysis and meta-regression of blood pressure and renal outcomes
This is a review that pools results from many earlier studies of renal denervation in people with kidney disease. Renal denervation is a procedure that burns the nerves in the...
Predictors of Worsening Renal Function in Patients Hospitalized with Acute Heart Failure
This study looked at what predicts kidney function getting worse in people admitted to hospital with sudden heart failure. It is a look-back at patient records, so it can show a...
Urinary Uromodulin for Distinguishing Between Glomerulonephritis, Diabetic Kidney Disease, and Nephrosclerosis in a Biopsy-Proven Cohort
Uromodulin is a protein the kidney makes and releases into urine. Researchers tested whether its level in urine can tell apart three causes of kidney damage: inflammation of the...
MPO-ANCA–associated glomerulonephritis with immune complex deposition and membranous features in a patient with Sjögren’s syndrome: a case report
This is a report on a single patient with Sjogren's syndrome, a disease where the immune system attacks the glands that make tears and saliva. The patient developed inflammation of...
Longitudinal evaluation of glomerular filtration rate across adolescence and early adulthood in youth with type 1 diabetes: associations with clinical and social risk factors
Researchers followed young people with type 1 diabetes from their teenage years into early adulthood and tracked their kidney filtering rate (eGFR) over time. They checked which...
Clinical Spectrum and Early Renal Functional Variability in a Nationwide Greek Pediatric HNF1B Multicenter Cohort
HNF1B is a gene that, when altered, can cause kidney problems present from birth. Centers across Greece pooled their children with this gene change and described the range of...
ESTABLISHING AND VALIDATING DIFFERENT HISTOLOGY-BASED APPROACHES TO QUANTITATIVELY ASSESS RENAL DAMAGE IN AN ANIMAL MODEL OF ISCHAEMIA REPERFUSION INJURY (IRI)
This study tested ways to measure kidney scarring in rats after a temporary blood flow block — not people. It is a methods paper to improve future animal research, but it has no...
Real-world long-term outcomes and safety of avacopan for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis with advanced renal dysfunction: a multicenter cohort study (4U-AAV Study)
Avacopan is a drug for ANCA vasculitis, a disease where the immune system attacks small blood vessels, including those in the kidney. This study followed people who took it in...
Immunoglobulin A nephropathy: pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment
This is a review article on IgA nephropathy, a disease where the immune system damages the kidney's tiny filters. It gathers what doctors currently believe about what causes it,...
Reconsidering the Association Between GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Atrial Fibrillation Risk in Chronic Kidney Disease.
This is a commentary, not a study. It re-examines earlier reports that tied GLP-1 drugs, the diabetes and weight loss medicines, to atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, in...
Renal Outcomes in Survivors of Neonatal and Pediatric Renal Vein Thrombosis
Researchers used large health insurance records to follow children who had a blood clot in a kidney vein, including older children as well as newborns. They asked how many later...
SEISMIC: A multi-stakeholder summit addressing access issues in diagnosis and treatment of C3G nephropathy and IC-MPGN
Doctors, patients, and industry met to discuss C3G and IC-MPGN, two very rare diseases in which part of the immune system stays switched on and damages the kidney's filters. Two...
Jardiance
This is the official FDA label for Jardiance (empagliflozin), a daily pill that makes the kidneys pass extra sugar out in the urine. The label states it is approved to lower the...
Effects of Progressive Inspiratory Muscle Training on Lung Volume and Respiratory Strength in Patients With Pre-Dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease.
A randomized trial tested training the muscles you breathe with in people with stage 3 to 5 kidney disease who are not on dialysis. One group trained against rising resistance, up...
Dose-Response Effects of Different Exercise Modalities on Blood Pressure Control in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.
This pooled analysis combined many exercise trials in people with chronic kidney disease to ask how much exercise lowers blood pressure. It compared different kinds of exercise and...
Fruits, Vegetables, and Legumes: Harnessing the Gut-Kidney Axis in Hypertensive Chronic Kidney Disease.
A review asking when fruits, vegetables, and legumes are safe for adults who have both high blood pressure and kidney disease. About 80 to 85 percent of people with kidney disease...
Berberine-Drug Interactions: Mechanisms, Clinical Relevance and Risk Stratification-A Narrative Review.
A review of how berberine, a popular supplement sold as a natural weight-loss aid, interferes with prescription drugs. Older adults often take it without telling their doctor, and...
Finger-Ring Test and Low Muscle Mass in Older Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.
In older adults with kidney disease, a simple finger-ring test (measuring calf size) was linked to low muscle mass and frailty, but the study cannot prove that small calves cause...
Patient-Oriented Digital Health Intervention for Chronic Kidney Disease: From Evidence to Everyday Care
This paper argues for moving digital tools, such as apps, remote monitoring, and patient portals, into everyday care for chronic kidney disease. It walks through what evidence...
Biosociodemographic, Anthropometric, and Laboratory Profiles Associated with the Risk of Developing Chronic Kidney Disease Among Older Adults Living in Quilombola Communities: A Cross-sectional Study
Researchers measured body size, blood and urine tests, and social background in older adults living in Quilombola communities in Brazil, villages founded by descendants of escaped...
Noncovalent SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors targeting the catalytic dyad and primed substrate binding subsites.
This lab study tested molecules that block a virus protein in test tubes and computer models — not people. It found some candidates might stop the virus from copying, but it has no...
Integration of multi-omics and network toxicology suggests potential mechanisms linking artificial sweeteners to chronic kidney disease
This is a computer and lab study looking at how artificial sweeteners might affect the kidney. Researchers combined large biological datasets with network models to guess which...
Research Progress and Critical Challenges of Bioartificial Kidneys in Renal Replacement Therapy for End-Stage Renal Disease.
A review of progress on bioartificial kidneys, which combine a filter with living kidney cells to do more of what a real kidney does. The case for them is simple: dialysis keeps...
Capability of arterial spin labeling combined with morphological characteristics to distinguish early- and mid-stage chronic kidney disease: a prospective study on 5 T MRI
A scan test, not a treatment. Researchers used a very strong 5 T MRI machine with a technique called arterial spin labeling, which measures blood flow through the kidney without...
Pediatric Kidney Transplantation: A Systematic Review.
This systematic review analyzed many studies on kidney transplants in children and found that while transplants give better survival and quality of life than dialysis, long-term...
How does steroid withdrawal compare with steroid maintenance after kidney transplant in adults?
This is a Cochrane evidence summary, pooling randomized trials in adults who have had a kidney transplant. It compares stopping steroid anti-rejection drugs with staying on them...
Complicações Urológicas Precoces Após Transplante Renal
This looks at urinary tract complications in the first weeks after a kidney transplant, things like leaks or blockages where the new kidney connects to the bladder. It reviews what...
Asia-Pacific Summit on Implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines on Diabetes and Blood Pressure Management in Chronic Kidney Disease: A KDIGO Summit Report
This is a meeting report, not a study. Kidney doctors from the Asia-Pacific region met in Kuala Lumpur in 2024 to ask why existing guidelines for treating diabetes and high blood...
Referral patterns in the CKD.QLD Registry: A call for revisiting the definition of late referral
This looks at when people with kidney disease in Queensland, Australia first get sent to a kidney specialist. Being referred "late" is usually defined by a fixed cutoff, often...
Association of iron-related parameters with the development of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury
This study looked at whether iron levels in the blood track with sudden kidney damage in people with sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to infection. Sudden kidney injury from...
AEGIS P11: Renal Risk Augmenting System (RRAS)
This is a posted description of a system called RRAS, meant to flag people at higher risk of kidney problems. It is a concept or tool write-up, not a study of patients. No results...
Integrating the Urea-to-Creatinine Ratio with Clinical Variables to Improve Etiological Discrimination in Acute Kidney Injury
Sudden kidney injury has many causes, and telling them apart changes the treatment. This study combined a common blood test ratio, urea to creatinine, with other patient details to...
Shrunken pore syndrome increased the risk of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery: a cohort study
Shrunken pore syndrome is a pattern in blood tests suggesting the kidney's tiny filters are letting through less than they should. This study followed people having heart surgery...
A Novel Homozygous CFH Variant Associated with Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Triggered by Colorectal Cancer: A Case Report
This is a single patient report. The person had a rare condition where tiny clots damage the kidney, linked to an inherited change in a gene called CFH, and it appeared alongside...
THE ROLE OF ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RENAL DYSFUNCTION IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE
This looks at how damage to the lining of blood vessels, called endothelial dysfunction, may tie in with kidney trouble in people with long-term lung disease (COPD). It reports a...
Kidney Elastography in Adult Nephrology: A Narrative Review
This is a review article about elastography, an ultrasound method that measures how stiff a kidney is. Stiffness can hint at scarring, so the idea is to check kidney damage without...