Research Updates in Kidney and Urologic Health
NKUDIC Releases Two New Publications, Updates Three
Two new illustrated dictionaries—The Kidney Diseases Dictionary and
The Urologic Diseases Dictionary—will be available early in 2000
from the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse
of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK).
These booklets define words that are often used to talk about kidney
and urologic diseases. They will help patients, family, and friends understand
the medical terms associated with these diseases.
Updated Publications
Interstitial cystitis is a chronic pelvic pain disorder. The 1999 update
of the Interstitial Cystitis fact sheet describes the causes, symptoms,
and diagnosis of interstitial cystitis, as well as new developments in
its treatment.
Prostate enlargement is a common part of aging. The recently updated
Prostate Enlargement: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia fact sheet provides
basic information about the prostate gland and describes symptoms, diagnosis,
and treatment of prostate enlargement, including new sections on medications
that shrink or relax prostate tissue, and nonsurgical procedures like
transurethral microwave thermotherapy to remove excess prostate tissue.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) affect millions of people each year.
The fact sheet titled Urinary Tract Infection in Adults, revised
in 1999, describes the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of this
serious health problem, including progress in the development of a vaccine
to prevent UTIs.
A single copy of each publication is available free of charge; booklets
are available in packages of 25 for $10; fact sheets are available in
packages of 25 for $5. To order these materials, use the online catalog. The publications can also be accessed at http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/a-z.asp.
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New DKUHD Programs for 2000
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK) provides leadership for a national research program in kidney
and urologic diseases through its Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic
Diseases (DKUHD). Each year, DKUHD works with NIDDK's Advisory Council—representing
a broad range of non-Federal scientific, educational, and medical institutions—to
plan and develop a set of program initiatives designed to yield fundamental,
innovative, and valuable contributions to human health. The following
list of DKUHD program initiatives for 2000 demonstrates the division's
commitment to maintaining the phenomenal progress of recent years in understanding
the biological processes that result in kidney and urologic diseases.
New Funding for United States
Renal Data System
NIDDK has awarded a 5-year contract to operate the Coordinating Center
for the United States Renal Data System (www.usrds.org),
which was established in 1988. The Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation
will operate the Coordinating Center responsible for reporting the overall
incidence, prevalence, treatment modality rates, hospitalization rates,
and costs associated with end-stage renal disease. These results will
be made known to NIDDK, the Health Care Financing Administration, Congress,
and the public.
Interdisciplinary Centers for Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Research
In 1999, DKUHD granted four awards to establish research centers that
will employ multidisciplinary strategies for studying both the autosomal
dominant (ADPKD) and recessive (ARPKD) forms of the disease. These centers
will foster and extend the development of new approaches to studying the
causes, making early diagnoses, and improving treatments for PKD. Institutions
participating in this initiative were encouraged to form teams of experts
from a variety of disciplines, including cellular and molecular biology,
genetics, protein chemistry, structural biology, immunology, pathology,
physiology, nutrition, epidemiology, clinical trials, animal models, and
drug development. Participating instiutions are Case-Western Reserve University,
The Johns Hopkins University, University of Kansas Medical Center, and
Yale University. The Polycystic Kidney Research Foundation plans supplemental
funding for the NIDDK research centers.
Innovative Imaging To Assess Progression of PKD
DKUHD is initiating a program to develop and test accurate, reproducible
techniques to monitor PKD progression so that potential interventions
can be evaluated. This program will apply the latest advances in imaging
technology to measure kidney size and disease progression. Other potential
markers of disease progression, such as cells found in the urine, will
also be tested as potential diagnostic tools. The consortium of participating
clinical centers are the Mayo Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota; the
University of Kansas in Kansas City; and Emory University in Atlanta.
The data coordinating and imaging analysis center is at Washington University
in St. Louis.
Analgesic Nephropathy Study
People who take over-the-counter painkillers regularly over long periods
of time may do permanent damage to their kidneys, a condition called analgesic
nephropathy. This study will evaluate the sensitivity and specificity
of computerized tomography in diagnosing analgesic nephropathy in patients
with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and will estimate the prevalence of
analgesic nephropathy as a cause of ESRD in the newly diagnosed. The contract
for this study was awarded to the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, with
Dr. Joseph Shapiro as the Principal Investigator. The Coordinating Investigator
is Dr. William Henrich, Chairman of the Department of Medicine, University
of Maryland School of Medicine. The Data Coordinating Center is at the
Slone Epidemiology Unit at Boston University College of Medicine. Contact:
Lawrence Y. C. Agodoa, M.D., Director, NIDDK End-Stage Renal Disease Program,
301–594–7717.
Prospective Clinical Studies of BPH and Prostate Cancer
NIDDK is working with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to find better
ways to identify and diagnose early signs of prostate cancer. The prospective
study builds on an existing DKUHD program, the Medical Therapy of Prostate
Symptoms (MTOPS) study, which supports 19 clinical centers examining the
effects of two different drugs prescribed to relieve symptoms of prostate
enlargement. While MTOPS was originally designed to compare the effectiveness
of two BPH drugs, the assembled cohort creates a rare opportunity to study
the early stages of a condition that often goes undetected until it has
reached an advanced stage. Over the next 10 years, a substantial portion
of the men in this study are expected to develop prostate cancer. The
baseline studies of these men, including prostate biopsy and ultrasound
imaging, may help researchers identify surrogate markers for the prediction
of prostate cancer risk.
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New Materials from CHID
Each quarter, NKUDIC adds about 150 items to the kidney and urologic
diseases subfile of the Combined Health Information Database (CHID). The
database contains abstracts and ordering information for professional
resources and patient education materials—such as books, pamphlets, videos,
journal articles, and manuals—on a variety of kidney and urologic topics.
Following are descriptions of two recent patient education additions to
the subfile.
Keys to a Long Life
The Life Options Rehabilitation Program
The Life Options Rehabilitation Program now has educational and motivational
products available for people on dialysis. Keys to a Long Life
includes a video of personal perspectives from dialysis patients, personal
interviews on audiocassette, a poster featuring people who have thrived
while on dialysis, a goal-setting worksheet, patient interest checklists,
a staff idea guide, a video for nephrologists, and fact sheets.
The fact sheets cover basic information in a variety of areas including
fluid restriction, anemia, vascular access, and the dialysis machine.
This information is written with the patient in mind; the fact sheets
contain helpful illustrations and are easy to understand. Each sheet provides
definitions of medical terms. Helpful charts are also located on the back
of each fact sheet outlining problems the patient may encounter, suggestions
for prevention of the problem, and related questions to ask the health
care team.
The Keys to a Long Life materials are intended for use in dialysis
centers and are distributed through the Life Options Rehabilitation Resource
Center (RRC). For a free copy or more information, contact the RRC at
800–468–7777 or via e-mail (lifeoptions@medmed.com),
or visit the Life Options web site at www.lifeoptions.org.
Choices: Options for Living with
Kidney Failure
The American Association of Kidney Patients
The American Association of Kidney Patients provided editorial assistance
to create the patient education video Choices: Options for Living with
Kidney Failure. The video is designed to help patients and their family
and friends learn about what kidneys do, what happens when they fail,
and how kidney failure can be treated with dialysis or transplantation.
In the video, patients describe the challenges they have faced and the
strategies they have used to become key members of their own health care
team.
The video was produced by Baxter Healthcare.
It is available for free rental at many Blockbuster video stores.
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NIDDK Web Site Offers Directory of Kidney
and Urologic Diseases Organizations
The Directory of Kidney and Urologic Diseases Organizations
for patients and practitioners has recently been updated. This directory
lists voluntary, governmental, and private organizations. Some of the
organizations offer educational materials and other services to patients
and the public; others primarily serve health care professionals. To be
included, organizations must provide a mission statement and have a governing
board.
The online version of the directory provides links to organization web sites. NIDDK is not
responsible for the content of these sites. Inclusion in the directory does not constitute an endorsement by NIDDK.
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