Kidney research, 2026-09-21
New data links muscle loss to weakness in dialysis patients.
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A new comparison of two diabetes drugs in early kidney disease is promising but has not been peer-reviewed yet.
Today's news focuses on how muscle health and specific cell structures affect kidney disease. Most findings are observational, meaning they show links rather than proof of cause. One study on diabetes drugs is still preliminary and needs more review.
The Role of Angiopoietin-Like Proteins 3 and 4 and Their Target Lipases in CKD: A Drug-Target Mendelian Randomization Study
This study used genetics to test if certain fat-related proteins cause kidney damage. It looked at how these proteins affect kidney function in humans. There are no results yet.
A B cell-rich immune niche defines a high-risk subgroup of diabetic kidney disease
This study found a specific pattern of immune cells in people with diabetic kidney disease. This pattern marks a group at higher risk for kidney failure. There are no results yet.
Status of Vitamin D, Parathyroid Hormone, and Alfacalcidol among Anemic Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in the Gaza Strip
This study measured vitamin D and parathyroid hormone levels in 300 people on dialysis in Gaza. It looked at how these levels relate to a common kidney drug called alfacalcidol....
Emerging genetic mechanisms of glomerular proteinuria: a podocyte-centered multi-layer network perspective
This review summarizes many studies on genes that cause protein to leak into urine. It focuses on podocytes, which are cells in the kidney that act as filters. The review finds...
Recent and long-term glycation markers and asymptomatic cerebral microangiopathy in adults without diabetes: the ILERVAS study
This study looked at 3,444 adults who do not have diabetes. It checked if high blood sugar markers were linked to damage in small brain blood vessels. The results show a link...
Machine Learning Prediction and Causal Forest Analysis of Severe Acute Kidney Injury in ICU Patients with COPD: A MIMIC-IV Study.
Researchers used computer models to predict sudden, severe kidney injury in 4,705 ICU patients with COPD. The models helped identify who was at risk. This is an observational...
Sex-Specific Predictive Value of Obesity-Related Indicators for Diabetic Kidney Disease in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
This study looked at 1,586 people with type 2 diabetes to see how body fat measures link to kidney disease. It checked if these links differ between men and women. The study shows...
Serum BDNF and cognitive risk in maintenance hemodialysis: a machine learning study.
This study looked at 130 people on dialysis to see if a blood marker predicts memory loss. It found a link between the marker and a drop in memory scores over one year. This shows...
Heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction: synergy between cardiac and extracardiac mechanisms and effects of novel therapies.
This review explains how heart failure links to kidney disease and diabetes. It describes how these conditions work together to strain the heart. It is a summary of known science,...
Type 1 diabetes and cardiovascular medicine.
This review looks at heart disease in people with type 1 diabetes. It explains how diabetes raises the risk of heart problems over a lifetime. It is a summary of existing...
Approach to Hematuria: Core Curriculum 2026
This is a teaching guide on how to check for blood in the urine. It explains how doctors find the cause of blood in the urine. It is a curriculum, not a new study, so it has no...
Time in Target Range: The Optimal Marker for Kidney Protection
This is an opinion piece about how we measure blood sugar and blood pressure. It argues that looking at the time a value stays in a safe range is better than a single reading....
Self-Reported Versus Performance-Based Measures of Physical Function and Mortality Among Patients With Kidney Failure: A Cohort Analysis of the CONVINCE Trial
This study compared how patients rate their own health versus how they perform in tests. It looked at how these scores link to death in people with kidney failure. This is an...
Safety of Sodium/Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and CKD
This study checked the safety of a common diabetes drug in people with kidney disease. It looked for side effects in a large group of patients. This is an observational study, so...
Carbamylation as a Novel Marker of Coronary Artery Calcification in People With CKD: Findings from a Phenome-Wide Association Study in CRIC
This study looked at people with chronic kidney disease. It found a link between a protein change and hardening of the heart arteries. This shows a connection, but it does not...
Whole-genome sequencing characterizes monogenic and polygenic contributions to structural kidney and urinary tract malformations
This study used full gene tests to look at children with kidney birth defects. It found that many of these defects come from multiple genes working together. This shows a link...
Association of Three HIF-1α Genotypes With Susceptibility and Severity of Chronic Kidney Disease.
This study looked at gene changes in 90 people with kidney disease and 48 healthy people. It found a link between certain genes and how severe the disease is. This shows a...
Outcomes of SGLT2 inhibitors after transcatheter mitral valve repair in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
This study looked at 325 people with diabetes who had a heart valve repair. It compared those taking a specific kidney-protecting drug to those who were not. It shows a link to...
Association between initial eGFR dip and renal function trajectory in patients with chronic kidney disease initiating SGLT2 inhibitors: a retrospective cohort study
People with kidney disease who started SGLT2 drugs often see a temporary drop in their kidney filtering rate. This study looked at real-world data to see if that drop predicts...
Development and external validation of prediction models for a trial-informed operational composite after stage 3 acute kidney injury
This study built a computer model to predict if people with severe sudden kidney injury will need dialysis. It tested the model on data from other hospitals. It shows a link...
Disproportionality analysis of acute kidney injury and nephritis signals for nivolumab plus relatlimab (Opdualag), 2022-2026
This study looks at safety reports for a cancer drug called Opdualag. It checks if the drug causes kidney injury or inflammation. The data comes from a large database of side...
Genetic analyses of blood pressure traits in 140,000 admixed adults from Mexico City
This is a preprint, meaning it has not yet passed full peer review. It studies the genes of 140,559 people in Mexico City. It looks for genetic links to high blood pressure. It is...
The Neutrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio as an Associated Biomarker of Diabetic Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
This study looked at blood tests in people with type 2 diabetes. It found a link between a specific blood marker and kidney damage. This shows a connection, but it does not prove...
Facilitators and Barriers to Digital Health Technologies for Self-Management in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: Systematic Review Based on the Updated CFIR 2.0 Framework.
This review looks at how digital tools help people manage kidney disease. It identifies factors that make these tools easier or harder to use. It does not test a specific...
Association between tooth loss and kidney function: indirect roles of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation in NHANES 2001-2020.
This study found a link between losing teeth and lower kidney function. It suggests that body stress and inflammation may play a role. This is an observational study, so it shows a...
Association Between Blood Heavy Metals and Selenium with All-Cause Mortality in Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Populations: Exploring the Mediating Effects of Inflammatory Biomarkers.
This study looked at 6,072 people with heart and kidney issues. It found links between certain heavy metals in the blood and death. It also looked at selenium levels. This is an...
Left ventricular remodeling by cardiac magnetic resonance in children with advanced chronic kidney disease: an analysis of the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) study.
This study used heart scans to look at children with advanced kidney disease. It found that these children often have changes in their heart muscle. This is an observational...
Lipid Variability Predicts Long-Term Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in MINOCA: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
This study followed 254 people with a specific type of heart attack. It found that big swings in cholesterol levels predicted future heart problems. This is an observational study,...
Targeting immune-hemodynamic coupling in early diabetic kidney disease: Mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic opportunities.
This review looks at how diabetes starts to hurt the kidneys. It focuses on the early, silent phase before standard tests show damage. The authors discuss how blood flow and immune...
Patient characteristics, treatment patterns and clinical outcomes of immunoglobulin a nephropathy (IgAN) in China: a retrospective cohort study.
This study followed 978 people in China who had a specific kidney disease called IgA nephropathy. It tracked how their kidney function changed over time. This type of study shows a...
Associations between intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy and adverse renal outcomes.
This study checked if eye injections for vision problems hurt the kidneys. It compared people who got the shots with those who did not. It found a link between the treatment and...
Comparative Effects of Dapagliflozin versus Linagliptin as Add-on to Metformin on Glycemic and Renal Outcomes: A 24-Week Non-Randomized Prospective Observational Cohort Study in Indian Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Stage 2-3a chronic kidney disease
This study looked at two diabetes drugs, dapagliflozin and linagliptin, in people with early kidney disease. It tracked how these drugs affected blood sugar and kidney health over...
This paper explains how a kidney hormone called FGF23 works inside cells. It describes the chemical steps that help the body manage phosphate and vitamin D. The text does not...
Normoproteic Plant-Dominant Protein Diets, Uremic Toxins, and Gut Microbiota in Patients With Advanced CKD: A Randomized Controlled Trial
This trial tested if a plant-based diet helps people with advanced kidney disease. It looked at harmful toxins and gut health. The text describes the plan but does not list the...
Executive summary of the clinical practice guideline for renal rehabilitation 2026: systematic reviews and recommendations of exercise therapies, nutritional therapies, and multidisciplinary care in patients with chronic kidney diseases
This is a 2026 update to a major set of rules for treating kidney disease. It covers the full range of care, from early stages to dialysis and transplants. The guide gives advice...
Ultrasound-derived quadriceps muscle measurements are independently associated with physical frailty in patients undergoing hemodialysis.
This study looked at people on dialysis and measured their leg muscles with ultrasound. It found a link between low muscle mass and physical weakness. This shows a connection, but...
Reversible acute-on-chronic kidney injury complicating antibiotic dosing in group A streptococcal necrotizing fasciitis at a remote Indonesian hospital: a case report.
This is a report on one woman who had a severe skin infection and kidney trouble. Her kidney function improved after surgery. It is a single case, not a large study, so it does not...
Sustained 10% Oxygen Promotes Atrial Rather Than Ventricular Specification During Human iPSC-Cardiomyocyte Differentiation
This is a preprint about growing heart cells in a lab. It looks at how oxygen levels affect how these cells develop. It is not yet published in a journal, so it has no final...
Androgens Drive SOX9 Upregulation in Injured Proximal Tubular Cells
This study looked at kidney cells in the lab. It found that male hormones turn on a gene called SOX9. This gene helps cells repair early on, but can cause scarring later. This was...
Synthetic Biology and Soft Robotics in Biohybrid Kidney Replacement: A Conceptual Framework and Translational Roadmap
This paper describes a new idea for a kidney machine. It would mix living cells with soft robots to help filter blood. The authors call this a biohybrid device. It is a plan for...
Primary cilia: master conductors of cellular communication in development and disease
This review explains how tiny hair-like structures on cells, called cilia, work. These structures act like antennas that send signals to the cell. The review covers how problems...
An Unexpected Cause of Early Allograft Dysfunction: A Quiz
This is a quiz about a man who had a kidney transplant from his wife. It describes his medical history and the tests done before the surgery. It is a teaching tool, so it does not...
Mental Health, Neurodegenerative, and Cardiovascular Health of Korean Kidney Transplant Recipients in Single-Person Households
This study looked at kidney transplant patients who live alone. It checked their mental and heart health. This is an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof of cause.
Dual versus Single Kidney Transplantation in Contemporary U.S. Practice: A National Matched Cohort Study.
This study compared people who received two kidneys in a transplant versus one. It looked at 140,707 transplants in the U.S. It found that getting two kidneys was linked to lower...
Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud: Resurfacing the Under-Recognized Needs of Patients and Care Partners
This is an opinion piece about the emotional and physical needs of people starting dialysis. It discusses how the transition to kidney failure can be scary and overwhelming. There...
Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Retrospective Observational Study.
This study checked medical records of people on dialysis. It found that many patients had potential conflicts between their different drugs. This shows a link to safety issues, not...
Plasma VGF as a Predictive Biomarker for Early Acute Kidney Injury in Critically Ill Elderly Patients: A Combined Clinical and Mendelian Randomization Study.
This study tested blood markers in 128 critically ill patients. It looked at whether a protein called VGF can predict sudden kidney injury. This shows a link to early warning...
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN UZBEKISTAN
This review looks at how common type 1 diabetes is in children in Uzbekistan. It covers data from 1998 to 2014. The paper discusses how the disease is spread across different...
Prognosis and Therapies in Non-Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinomas
This review looks at a rare type of kidney cancer called non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma. It uses data from 43,966 adults to see how long people live with this disease. The...
What are the three treatment options for Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)?
This item lists the three main choices for people with end-stage kidney disease. The options are a kidney transplant, dialysis, or conservative care. It is a general guide, not a...
What specific evidence exists linking prior authorization to treatment delays in chronic kidney disease?
This paper looks for proof that insurance checks slow down kidney care. It finds no direct evidence for this specific link in kidney disease. It notes that paperwork can cause...
What are the stages of chronic kidney disease, including the distinguishing signs and symptoms?
This is a general overview of the five stages of kidney disease. It explains how kidney function drops over time. It lists the signs and symptoms for each stage. This is...
Building the Financial Case for Earlier CKD Interventions: Introducing the CKD Business Case Calculator
The National Kidney Foundation released a new tool for hospitals. It helps them see the money saved by finding kidney disease early. This is a business tool, not a medical study....
The Lived Experiences of African American and Latinx Family Caregivers of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Photo-Elicitation Study.
This study explores the daily lives of family caregivers for patients with kidney disease. It focuses on African American and Latinx communities. It describes personal experiences...