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.
Two common diabetes drugs show strong evidence of protecting kidneys and hearts
Today’s strongest evidence supports two diabetes drug classes—GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors—for protecting both kidneys and hearts in type 2 diabetes. Several smaller studies add context: one links early gout to higher cancer risk (but not causation), another shows how baseline factors affect body changes on SGLT2 inhibitors, and a third finds malnutrition is common in pre-dialysis stages 3–5. A separate study ties higher blood pressure and older age to faster kidney decline in people with HIV on treatment. Most findings show associations, not cause-and-effect.
Cardiorenal Protection in Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review Comparing Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors.
This systematic review looked at many large trials and found both GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors slow kidney decline and lower heart risks in type 2 diabetes, even beyond lowering blood sugar. The benefit was clear across hundreds of patients and hard outcomes like kidney failure or death.
Supporting data for: Metabolic Bariatric Surgery as a Bridge to Kidney Transplantation in Patients with Obesity and Advanced Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
This is the data file behind a review that pooled results from many earlier studies. It looked at weight loss surgery for people with obesity and advanced kidney disease who want a kidney transplant. That question matters because many transplant centers will not list someone above a certain weight. This record holds the raw numbers only, so how much the surgery helped is not stated here.
Development of a multivariable clinical prediction model for acute kidney injury after valve replacement surgery: incremental value of the triglyceride-glucose body mass index.
This study found that a simple score combining triglycerides, blood sugar, and body mass index (TyG-BMI) helped predict who would get sudden kidney injury after heart valve surgery, but because it is observational, it shows only an association—not proof the score causes or prevents injury.
Circulating Soluble Thrombomodulin Is Elevated in Early-Stage CKD and Is Associated with Renal Dysfunction: A Transcriptomic and Retrospective Cohort Study
A study of people with early kidney disease found higher levels of a protein in the blood linked to worse kidney filtering rate (eGFR), but this only shows a connection — it does not prove the protein causes harm. The study included 1,240 adults and used existing medical records.
Clinical Factors Associated with Short-Term Decline in Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in People Living with HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy: A Prospective Cohort Study
This study followed people with HIV on standard treatment and found that higher blood pressure, older age, and lower starting kidney filtering rate (eGFR) were linked to a faster drop in kidney function over about one year. Because it only observed people and did not change their care, it shows a link but does not prove cause and effect.
Prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among patients with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease stages 3-5.
This cross-sectional study found that nearly half of people with pre-dialysis kidney disease stages 3 to 5 had malnutrition, and lower income, worse kidney filtering rate (eGFR), and more inflammation were linked to it—though the study cannot say which factor caused the malnutrition.
Early-onset gout is associated with an increased risk of genitourinary cancers in a nationwide cohort of 6.5 million young Korean adults
A study of 6.5 million young Korean adults found that people with early gout were more likely to be diagnosed with genitourinary cancers later, but this does not prove gout causes cancer — it only shows a link. Gout is a type of arthritis caused by high uric acid, which can also harm kidneys.
Effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists on the incidence of contrast-induced acute kidney injury in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus undergoing coronary interventions.
This observational study found that type 2 diabetes patients who took GLP-1 drugs before heart procedures had less sudden kidney injury after contrast dye was used, but because it is not a randomized trial, it shows only a link—not proof the drug caused the benefit.
Low baseline HbA1c and reduced eGFR are associated with relatively unfavorable body recomposition after SGLT2 inhibitor therapy in type 2 diabetes.
In people with type 2 diabetes on SGLT2 inhibitors, those with lower blood sugar and worse kidney filtering rate (eGFR) at the start tended to lose more fat but also more muscle than others, which could matter for strength and recovery; this study shows a pattern, not cause-and-effect.
Metal Homeostasis Imbalance as Potentially Contributing Mechanism in Onset of Cardiac Disorders in Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease
This study looked at whether an imbalance of metals in the body, things like zinc, copper and iron, is linked to heart problems in people who have both chronic lung disease and chronic kidney disease. Damaged kidneys struggle to keep these metals in balance. The work shows an association only, not proof that metal imbalance causes the heart trouble. No abstract was available, so the size of the study is not known from this record.
Oxidative Stress and Renal Function in Severe Preeclampsia and Normal Pregnancy
This study compared kidney function and signs of cell damage from unstable oxygen molecules in women with severe preeclampsia against women with normal pregnancies. Preeclampsia is dangerous high blood pressure in pregnancy, and it can strain the kidneys. Because the two groups were only compared, this shows a link, not proof that the cell damage causes the kidney changes. No abstract was available, so the number of women studied is not known from this record.
Association of Serum 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Levels with Erythropoietin Resistance Index-Based Relative Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent Hyporesponsiveness in Pre-Dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease
Many people with kidney disease get anemia, meaning low red blood cells, and take drugs that push the body to make more. Some people respond poorly to those drugs. This study checked whether a low level of the active form of vitamin D in the blood goes along with that poor response, in people who are not yet on dialysis. It is observational, so it shows a link, not proof that vitamin D is the reason.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis in renal vasculitis in the Japan renal biopsy registry
Doctors in Japan pulled cases from a national registry of kidney biopsies, the small tissue samples taken to diagnose kidney disease. They described who gets a fast moving kidney inflammation driven by inflamed blood vessels, and how sick those people were at diagnosis. A registry review like this shows patterns, not cause. The patient counts are in the journal article and are not in this record.
A Circulating Proteomic Signature of Allostatic Load Is Associated with Multisystem Disease and Mortality
Researchers found a pattern of proteins in the blood that tracks with allostatic load, which is the wear and tear the body takes from long-term stress. People with that protein pattern were more likely to have disease in several organ systems and more likely to die during follow-up. This is an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof that stress caused the illness. People who are already sick can have both higher stress and these protein changes.
Association of adverse adulthood experiences with cardiovascular kidney metabolic syndrome
This study looked at hard experiences in adult life, such as abuse, money trouble, or losing a home. It checked whether people who went through more of them were more likely to have cardiovascular kidney metabolic syndrome, a cluster of heart, kidney, and blood sugar problems that travel together. The design is observational, so it shows a link, not proof that stress causes the syndrome. The size of that link is in the full article, not in this record.
Performance of the iBox Prognostication System in African American Kidney Transplant Recipients
The iBox is a calculator that predicts how long a transplanted kidney will keep working. This study checked how well it performs in African American transplant recipients, a group that has worse transplant outcomes on average. The study looked back at patient records rather than testing anything, so it shows how well the tool matched what happened, not why. If the tool is less accurate in this group, it could shape who gets closer follow-up.
Clinical implications of cardiovascular events in older kidney transplant recipients: a nationwide cohort study
This nationwide study followed older adults who received a kidney transplant and tracked heart problems such as heart attacks and strokes. The aim was to see what those events mean for how long people live and how the new kidney holds up. It is an observational cohort, so it shows a link, not proof of cause. This record is the supporting data deposit, so the numbers are not written out here.
Chronic Kidney Disease and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Multiple Myeloma: A Multicenter Real-World Cohort Study
This study followed people with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, across several hospitals and compared those who also had chronic kidney disease. Myeloma often damages the kidneys, and this work tracks how those patients did. It is observational, so it shows a link between kidney disease and worse outcomes, not proof that one caused the other. No abstract was available, so how many people were included and how long they were followed is not known from this record.
Patient-reported ratings of transfer to adult care among young adults with chronic kidney disease
Young adults with chronic kidney disease were asked to rate how their move from children's care to adult care went. This handoff is a known weak point, and young people often lose track of care around it. The report is based on what patients said about their own experience, so it describes the problem and shows links, not causes. It is a repository posting, not a peer reviewed journal article.
Perceived Child Vulnerability and Protective Behavior by Parents of Children with Chronic Kidney Disease
Researchers asked parents of children with long term kidney disease how fragile they believe their child to be. They then looked at whether that belief changes how protective the parents act day to day. This is an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof that one causes the other. The counts and results sit in the journal article and are not in this record.