The ISN's first “Advocacy and Policy Course - New Skills for the Modern Nephrologist” was held on February 24 at the World Congress of Nephrology 2022. The course, intended for anyone interested in advocating for kidney health, covered the principles and practicalities of designing and conducting effective advocacy campaigns to equip participants with the knowledge,...
The Patient Liaison Advisory Group, comprising a patient representative from each of the ten ISN regions, will support ISN’s efforts to shape patient-centered health initiatives and research programs to address the burden of kidney disease worldwide. The group was officially launched at the World Congress of Nephrology 2022. Following opening remarks from the ISN President,...
The Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group (DICG) will present specific issues arising from current global crises generating fertile ground for illicit organ removal and posing challenges to the interpretation of the Declaration of Istanbul (DOI). These include an increase in refugees and migrants due to conflicts and humanitarian crises and a decrease in available...
The lack of symptoms in early-stage kidney disease can make it difficult to diagnose. Clinicians usually rely on a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) test to identify disease at an early stage, particularly in high-risk groups. Testing for GFR can be a complicated and lengthy procedure. Using a formula to estimate GFR is standard practice, but...
Inflammation and subsequent fibrosis play a critical role in the progression of kidney disease. Research to understand the cell types, genes, and mechanisms behind this process could reveal new ways to treat or even prevent kidney disease. Katalin Susztak is a professor of medicine and genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. She is a...
“The prevalence of genetic glomerular and kidney cystic diseases is largely understudied in many Asian countries,” says Dr. Kar Hui Ng. “Many large studies conducted elsewhere, for example in Europe, report rates of these diseases of about 20-30%; however, Asian people are underrepresented, even in international cohorts.” Dr. Ng is a pediatric nephrologist in the...
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is greatly under-utilized in most parts of the world, despite being preferred by many nephrologists and patients. Various factors, including late end-stage referrals and urgent kidney replacement therapy, mean that PD may not be considered as a treatment option. But new techniques for urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (USPD) allow for treatment initiation...
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of remote health information is more apparent than ever before. Big data technology supports the development of new online clinical pathways, translating clinical practice guidelines into clinical processes within healthcare institutions. In addition, research shows that helping patients and those who care for them to manage...
Sustainable healthcare relies on international collaboration, according to Dr. Frances Mortimer. In her Hugh de Wardener lecture at WCN’22, Dr. Mortimer, medical director of the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare in Oxford (UK), will underline why sustainable healthcare is important for health conditions, especially kidney health, as well as the environment. She will focus on the...
I am pleased to notify you that the ISN General Assembly meeting will take place via online webinar during the week of the 2022 ISN World Congress of Nephrology, as follows: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 4 to 5 p.m. CET (convert time and date to your own time zone here) via online webinar (please register for webinar at link...
“The groups of people most affected by COVID-19 and the groups affected by HIV are slightly different, but the bottom line is that inequalities have exacerbated both pandemics, and I think a lot can be learned from them,” says Adeeba Kamarulzaman, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,...
In her presentation at WCN’22, Dr. Mariam Priya Alexander, a pathologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, USA, will describe advances in pathology helping to diagnose glomerular disease, which accounts for approximately 16% of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dr. Alexander’s research interests include the application of ‘omics and mass cytometry to expand the understanding of...
Dialysis and transplantation are the main treatments for chronic kidney disease (CKD), but accessing those treatments is not always straightforward for patients in rural areas. CKD patients in rural and remote communities encounter many barriers to accessing care and have a higher risk of mortality than those in urban areas. In her talk at WCN’22, Nicki...
Diet is crucial to general health and well-being, but to what extent can we use food to treat and prevent kidney problems? At WCN‘22, this will be the question addressed by Peter Stenvinkel, professor and senior lecturer in the department of renal medicine at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Professor Stenvinkel and colleagues are conducting...
Dr. Shaifali Sandal is a transplant nephrologist and assistant professor at the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Canada. Her research focuses on improving living donor kidney transplantation (KT) and re-transplantation rates. In patients with kidney failure, transplantation is usually the best therapeutic option. It offers better survival rates and quality of life than dialysis. Economic...
The ISN collaborated with the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study on a web survey assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hemodialysis centers. Using a combined approach of random sampling and open invitation, researchers collected data between March 2020 and March 2021 from 412 centers in 78 countries across all ten ISN regions....
The ISN Video Abstract Series is a new initiative by the @ISNeducation Social Media Team showcasing key articles from ISN Journals on social media platforms. Watch the latest episodes on the ISN Academy: A Mathematical Estimation of the Physical Forces Driving Podocyte Detachment Combination Treatment with Rituximab, Low-Dose Cyclophosphamide and Plasma Exchange for Severe Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis
Dear ISN Community, It was an honor to take up my ISN Presidency at the Virtual WCN’21, the first virtual congress in ISN’s history, conducted successfully despite an incredibly challenging global environment. The innovative WCN'21 virtual platform demonstrated the ISN's commitment to global inclusion, a key theme throughout the year. Indeed, the ISN firmly believes that...
As an NBA Champion and Olympic gold medalist, retired professional basketball player Alonzo Mourning recognizes the potential his high profile has to inspire others. At the height of his basketball career, Mr. Mourning was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a rare and incurable genetic kidney disease with the potential to derail his career and...
The traditional large clinical trial, where participants are individually randomized to receive single agents or placebo, continues to hold a central place in nephrology, but the benefits of other trial designs are emerging. Professor Meg Jardine is director of the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre and kidney health research team at the University of Sydney, Australia....
