Chronic Kidney Disease

  Healio spoke with Kevin Martin, MD, professor of medicine and director of the division of nephrology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, about the challenges of managing hyperphosphatemia, prevention measures to recommend to patients at high risk for developing the condition, unmet needs in hyperphosphatemia management and more.

WASHINGTON — Although median age at menarche did not differ between girls with chronic kidney disease and those without CKD, research presented at ASN Kidney Week found girls with CKD who experienced delayed menarche were more likely to have short stature in adulthood.

One of the costliest and physically devastating health epidemics facing our nation today, chronic kidney disease affects more than 30 million Americans, largely due to skyrocketing comorbidities like diabetes, obesity and hypertension. More than 726,000 Americans live with ESRD, a diagnosis that grows by more than 124,000 patients every year.

At least 20% of people between the ages of 65 and 74 years, and half of those older than 75 years, have chronic kidney disease.1 Yet, development pipelines for the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies contain fewer than 30 active nephrology clinical investigations compared with more than 1,300 in oncology.2 In contrast with the vast number of research protocols, cancer patients are encouraged to consider inclusion in clinical studies. That is not a standard opportunity for people with kidney disease despite their eagerness to participate.3