Elvis is Alive!

Elvis the Kitten, of course, who did you think I was referring to?

Elvis may only be one year old but he has had an eventful life already. He started by trying to eat some lilies on a Valentine's Day bouquet that his owner Bob Armstrong bought for his wife, Paula. Lilies are not something kittens should try eating, and they poison the poor little things, and soon Elvis was mopping around, lethargic and not eating. A visit to the vet and mention of the lilies set alarm bells ringing, and things just got worse for the poor little guy. his kidneys were failing, as shown by a blood test. He was recommended to be put on dialysis. Yes, cat dialysis does take place. A visit to The School of Veterinary Medicine at Pennsylvania, soon gave him some relief, but his live was only being extended for the short term. He needed a transplant. Yes, pets do get transplants too.

The School of Veterinary Medicine at Penn. has done about 150 animal kidney transplants. Rescued cats get a new home with the owner of the cat they are a donor for, so a donor was sought to save Elvis. When a suitable donor was found, a health check ws made and then, on April 1st, (not this is not an elaborate hoax), on April 1st 1st, both cats were prepared for surgery, but at the last minute it had to be postponed (Elvis had had so many transfusions, it caused problems), and another donor was sought. And the surgery took place. Want to guess the donor cat's original name, found after a bit of research by the team involved? Elvis of course!

However, things didn't go as smoothly as planned, and poor Elvis (the sick one) was rushed off again for emergency treatment,as blood was not getting to his new kidney. His heart stopped for five minutes on the operating table, but the surgeons managed to save him.

Here he is! (No blue suede collar though.) Isn't he sweeeet?

So Elvis has returned from the dead! He still needs a daily dose of drugs to keep him okay. But hey, lots of rock legends...

Rock and Roll!
Read the story here if you don't believe me

What will these skilled vets get up to next, MRI scans for pets perhaps?

Kidney Disease In Older Age Linked To Overweight Starting In Early Adulthood

More research linking weight to possibility of kidney problems in later life.

This research suggests that being overweight early in your life could significantly increase the risks of developing kidney disease by the time people reach old age, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). Once again excess weight is showing up as a risk factor for chronic kidney disease.

It doesn't help that globally there is a trend for many people to become overweight, if not obese. In some countries it is more of a problem than others.

The research looked at a group of people born in one particular week in March 1946 in England, who were part of a long term data collection study. This gave information about the body weight of 4,584 individuals at six points in their life.

Among the major findings where the following points:

• Participants who were overweight beginning early in adulthood (ages 26 or 36 years) were twice as likely to have CKD at age 60 to 64 years compared with those who first became overweight at age 60 to 64 years or never became overweight.
• The link between overweight and CKD was only in part explained by taking diabetes and hypertension into account.
• Larger waist-to-hip ratios ("apple-shaped" bodies) at ages 43 and 53 years were also linked with CKD at age 60 to 64 years.

According to one quote, up to 36% of chronic kidney disease cases at age 60 - 64 could be avoided if the patients hadn't become overweight until later in life. The exact timing of when the weight gains start to affect things is currently unclear however.

Smoking may be affecting young people's kidney function

A recent news release from some Johns Hopkins research scientists suggests that smoking, both actively and exposure to passive / second hand smoke may be affecting the kidney function of adolescents. Their research suggests that the effects of tobacco smoke of the kidneys starts in childhood.

It's a bit of an understatement to say that smoking is associated with health problems (even if for literally decades the tobacco companies denied this!). This new research found that exposure to tobacco, including secondhand smoke and active smoking, was associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rates — a common measure of how well the kidneys are working.

A surprising number of young people try smoking, trying to pretend they are cool and grown-up - forgetting that most grown-ups don't smoke and thus showing that they are children. And along the way they are affecting their kidney function.

“Small changes in the distribution of estimated glomerular filtration rate levels in the population could have a substantial impact in kidney-related illness, as it is well known for changes in blood pressure levels and hypertension-related disease. Evaluating potential secondhand smoke exposure and providing recommendations to minimize exposure should continue to be incorporated as part of children’s routine medical care,” noted Jeffrey Fadrowski, MD, MHS, co-author of the study and an assistant professor in Pediatric Nephrology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

“Tobacco as a chronic kidney disease risk factor is of great concern given the high prevalence of use and the chronicity that most often accompanies this exposure. Protecting young people from active smoking is essential since nearly 80 percent of adults who smoke begin smoking by 18 years of age,” said Navas-Acien.

Apples and Pears - the Difference Really Matters

People's body shape can be classified as being an apple or a pear. Apple people, apart from buying expensive phones, carry excess weight around their abdomen, making them round, like an apple. Pear shaped people carry any excess weight a bit lower, around their hips. And why does this matter?

Because carrying excess weight around the abdomen is linked to an increased risk of kidney disease, a recent study suggests.

It was already known that being apple-shaped, as opposed to pear-shaped, added to the risk of developing cardiovascular problems. The new research, in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, found signs of kidney problems in even otherwise healthy apple-shaped people.

The study, by a team at the University Medical Center Groningen, in the Netherlands, examined 315 healthy individuals with an average BMI of 24.9 kg/m2 (normal weight range BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2) and found people with apple-shaped bodies tended to have lower kidney function, lower kidney blood flow, and higher blood pressure within the kidneys than people with pear-shaped bodies –even after adjusting for sex, age, mean arterial pressure, and BMI. They looked at the waist to hip measurement ratio as a way of quantifying a person's body shape.

High blood pressure in the kidneys of people with apple-shaped bodies may be responsible for their increased risk of developing kidney disease later in life.

So, what shape are you in? Would a bit of exercise and diet be a good idea?

Racial differences in survival on dialysis

A recent article suggests that your genetic background dictates how long you might survive on dialysis. The work suggests that Hispanics tend to live longer than blacks and whites.

It's known that your ethnic background can affect how likely you are to need dialysis - diabetes is more common among some races for example, as mentioned here, so should it be surprizing that your survival time is also dependent on your race?

A number of theories exist as to why Hispanic and black dialysis patients tend to live longer than whites. It may be that Hispanic and black patients are more likely to die before they develop kidney failure, and those who survive are generally healthier and thus more likely to live longer than white patients, the researchers suggested.

The researchers examined data from the United States Renal Data System involving 1,282,201 adults on dialysis between 1995 and 2009.

Source: Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, news release, March 28, 2013
Abstract