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News
| Is Drinking Water Overrated? | |
| Over the last few weeks, those who visited the British Medical Journal’s website might have noticed an advert for a new public health initiative, Hydration for Health. It is sponsored by Danone – which owns the Evian, Volvic and Badoit bottled water brands – and urges healthcare professionals to encourage people to drink more water, claiming that “evidence is increasing that even mild dehydration plays a role in the development of various diseases”. More... |
| World Kidney Day on 10th March 2011 | |
| We held an open day to raise peoples awareness of their kidneys.
The event took place in the Atrium of the New Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The event also raised awareness of other patient support organisations at the hospital.
The day was organised by the K.P.A. with the help and support of Birmingham Links.
Please get involved next year, Support World Kidney Day 8th March 2012 and help make a difference. Many thanks. Nick Flint Chairman Q.E.H.K.P.A. |
| Stem cell hope for kidney patients | |
| Feb 5th, 2011 American experiments led by a New Zealander have proved that treating kidney disease with a form of stem cell therapy is theoretically possible - a potentially revolutionary finding for those facing a kidney transplant or life-long dialysis. Full Story |
| Still going strong 42 years after Bristol's first kidney transplant | |
| Oct 30, 2010 A WOMAN who became Bristol's first kidney transplant patient 42 years ago is thanking the NHS for transforming her life. After the operation on October 31, 1968, doctors at Southmead Hospital told the then 25-year-old Anne Whiteman that the kidney would only last 10 years. But Mrs Whiteman, of Shirehampton, is now 67 and still has the same kidney. Full story |
| Blood test to predict kidney disease | |
| Oct 22, 2010 A study has revealed that measuring three biomarkers in a single blood sample might improve physicians' ability to identify patients at high risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD). Full Story |
| Ealing husband donates his kidney to wife | |
| A LOVING husband donated one of his kidneys so his wife could undergo pioneering treatment and live a normal life.
Wictor Moszczynski, of Inglis Road, Ealing, knew his wife Albina has a very rare blood type and it would have been very unlikely she could have found a match. So when he was told about a treatment at Hammersmith Hospital which enabled a patient to take a kidney from a live donor even if they had a different blood type, the 63-year-old put himself forward straight away. He said: "My wife had cists on her kidneys all her life but now their function had deteriorated and it looked like she was going to have to go onto dialysis. I thought she's given me 37 years of her life so why can't I give her something in return. She deserves it." Full Story |
| Kidney transplant saves woman after 10-year search for donor - February 12 2009 | |
| A WOMAN who waited 10 years for a kidney donor is recovering at home after undergoing transplant surgery. Isobel Urquhart, 43, was flown 160 miles from her home in Muir of Ord, Ross-shire, to hospital on Christmas Day for the life-saving treatment. The mother-of-two was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus in 1992, following the birth of her daughter. She was placed on the donor register in 1998 but because she had a rare tissue type, doctors thought it unlikely that she would ever find a suitable donor. She began kidney dialysis in 2003. Full Story |
| Windpipe transplant breakthrough - 19 November 2008 | |
| Scientists in Spain have carried out the world's first tissue-engineered whole organ transplant - a windpipe - made with a patient's own stem cells.
The groundbreaking technology also means for the first time tissue transplants can be carried out without the need for anti-rejection drugs. Five months on the patient, 30-year-old mother-of-two Claudia Castillo, is in perfect health, The Lancet reports. Tailor-made organs could become the norm, the European team believes. Scientists from Bristol helped grow the cells for the transplant, which was needed by Ms Castillo to save a lung following damage to her airways by tuberculosis. Full Story |
| Diabetes aspirin use questioned - 17 October 2008 | |
| Aspirin should not routinely be used to prevent heart attacks in people with diabetes, Scottish research suggests.
The British Medical Journal reported that in 1,300 adults with no symptoms of heart disease the drug, which can cause stomach bleeds, had no benefit. The findings contradict many guidelines which advocate people with diabetes use aspirin to counter the underlying high risk of heart attack and stroke. But there are key high-risk groups who still need the drug, experts said. Patients with concerns are advised to consult their GP before changing medication. In people who have already had a heart attack or stroke, or have been diagnosed with coronary artery disease, aspirin has been shown to reduce the risk of future "events" by around 25%. However, in recent years doctors have begun to focus on people who have not yet developed so-called cardiovascular disease, but are at high-risk of having it in the future - such as people with diabetes. There are around two million people over 40 with diabetes in the UK. Around 80% of people with diabetes die of cardiovascular disease including strokes and heart attacks. A daily dose of aspirin is recommended by several UK guidelines as a "preventive" treatment in these groups. No benefit But in the latest study in adults over 40 years with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and no symptoms of cardiovascular disease, there was no difference over seven years in heart attacks or strokes between those given aspirin and those given a dummy pill. Study leader Professor Jill Belch, from the University of Dundee, said aspirin was one of the most common causes of hospital admission for gastrointestinal bleeding. "We have got a bit ahead of ourselves with aspirin. We need to think again about using it for primary prevention." However she stressed the drug was beneficial in people who had already had a heart attack or stroke. Professor Peter Sever, an expert in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics at Imperial College London, said the study was "extremely important". "It confirms many concerns we have that aspirin is very widely used in the general population without an evidence base to support its overall benefits. Thousands of people buy aspirin over the counter - I'm forever saying to patients you shouldn't be taking this. I have had a couple of patients admitted to hospital with major gastrointestinal bleeding when there was no evidence it was doing any good." The number of people diagnosed with diabetes and as having a high risk of cardiovascular disease is set to increase, with government plans in England to introduce a national screening programme for the over-40s next year. Professor Steve Field, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said it would be worth revisiting the guidelines. "But patients shouldn't panic or stop taking aspirin," he said. Judy O'Sullivan, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study adds weight to the evidence that aspirin should not be prescribed to prevent disease of the heart and circulation to people with diabetes, and other high risk groups, who do not already have symptoms of the disease." |
| Hope of cure for diabetes type 1 sufferers | |
| February 11 2008 A pioneering treatment for diabetes is being rolled out across the country with experts believing it could eventually lead to a cure. Read the full BBC News report here |
| Breakdown Of Kidney's Ability To Clean Its Own Filters Likely Causes Disease | |
| February 3 2008 The kidney actively cleans its most selective filter to keep it from clogging with blood proteins, scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveal in a new study. See full item Here. |
| Art brightens up kidney dialysis | |
| January 30 2008 Chronic kidney patients forced to endure gruelling five-hour dialysis sessions are having their boredom eased by an innovative art project. See full BBC report Here |
| Transplant goal 'one step closer' | |
| January 24 2008 Scientists appear to be a step closer to transplanting a kidney without the need for a lifetime of drugs. see full BBC report: Here |
| Transplant without tablets | |
| January 24 2008 An Australian liver transplant patient has taken on the immune system of her donor. The medical breakthrough means she can stop taking a lifelong regimen of anti-rejection drugs and offers the same hope to other transplant recipients. See AP video Here |
| New Hope For Millions Of Suffers From A Kidney Disease | |||
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| Kidney Swapping Couples | |||
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