- Acute kidney injury affects 10-15% of hospitalized individuals and increases the risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
- Researchers at John Hopkins Medicine examined changes in 7 urine and 2 plasma (blood) biomarkers over time in people with acute kidney injury and found that increases in certain biomarkers were associated with a higher risk of chronic kidney disease while an increase in another biomarker was linked to lower risk of the disease.
- Experts say the findings suggest that long-term follow-up and monitoring of these biomarkers may be valuable in identifying people at risk of chronic kidney disease after acute kidney injury, although further research and is needed.
About
Acute kidney injury is a sudden decline in kidney function caused by reduced blood flow, direct damage to the kidneys or blockage of the urinary tract.
Symptoms may include weakness, confusion, and less frequent urination.
People who develop acute kidney injury while in the hospital have a 3-fold higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease, a condition in which the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood as well as they should. The disease may lead to other health problems, such as heart disease and stroke.
Studies in mice have shown that the recovery process after acute kidney injury can extend beyond 4-6 weeks, particularly in cases of severe injury. Some injured kidney cells may stop dividing and start activating immune cells and fibroblasts (connective tissue cells), leading to kidney fibrosis and long-term loss of kidney function.
Similar changes have been observed in acute kidney injury in humans. Previous research has measured biomarkers of inflammation and repair to understand kidney disease progression in people with kidney injury. However, looking at these biomarkers at just one point in time does not give a complete understanding of how the biological processes evolve over time.
A recent study…
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