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Chronic kidney disease is a silent epidemic that is disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. The landmark WHO global kidney health resolution signals urgency, but impact depends on action. Point-of-care diagnostics are essential to bridge the gap between recognition and reality, enabling equitable early detection, prevention and strengthening of health systems.
Digital twins are a key computational technology for the implementation of personalized approaches to medical care. They are based on computational models that have been calibrated to an individual patient and can be used to identify personalized treatment approaches. Nephrology offers several promising potential applications for this technology.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Liam McLaughlin (Jain lab) describes the development of an open-source Python tool that converts volumetric imaging data into quantifiable network graphs.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Fung and Shi describe a label-free optical imaging platform to capture the spatial molecular landscape of same-slide kidney tissue pathology.
A new study reports that in 2010–2019, mortality owing to non-communicable diseases continued to decline in the majority of countries worldwide. However, the data also highlight major disparities between countries and a widespread slowing of progress in reducing mortality compared to the previous decade.
Standard treatments to reduce cardiovascular risk, including mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, have not lowered the high cardiovascular mortality and morbidity of patients on long-term haemodialysis. Future research should focus on targeting inflammatory pathways that are activated when blood interacts with dialysis membranes.
Progress in the development of RNA-based therapeutics has been accelerated by the identification of organ-enriching carriers and cell-specific targeting conjugates, leading to their approval for a range of indications. However, attempts to develop RNA-based therapeutics for kidney diseases have proved challenging. This Review describes the physiological, technological and pharmacological hurdles that need to be overcome to realize the potential of RNA therapeutic approaches to kidney diseases.
The authors discuss the dysregulated host response in sepsis and the use of biomarkers to gauge the immunological status of patients and potentially guide precision medicine. They also highlight potential immunomodulatory therapies for sepsis and discuss the future of sepsis clinical trials.
This Review provides a guide to metabolite retention in kidney disease and includes an overview of key uraemic toxins and the complex mechanisms underlying their toxicity, as well as a discussion of key strategies with the potential to prevent or mitigate their adverse effects.
Urinary components can reflect kidney biology in health and disease. Here, the authors examine current data on urinary biomarkers that can provide insight into kidney function and metabolism, and discuss their potential application value as diagnostic, prognostic and/or therapeutic monitoring biomarkers.
