- Afflicts 20
million Americans.
- Takes the lives
of more than 90,000 people each year.
- Causes over
200,000 Americans suffering from chronic renal disease to
depend upon artificial kidney machines to live.
PROGRESS
IN MEDICAL RESEARCH
The kidneys are
twin organs that perform three functions to help maintain
life. The kidneys clean waste materials and excess fluids
from the blood, they filter the blood by retaining certain
compounds and excreting others, and they help regulate blood
pressure and red blood cell count. Diseases of the kidneys
and urinary tract are among the major causes of disability
and death, they include: infection; obstructions such as kidney
stones, cysts, and inherited abnormalities; defects in the
filtering mechanism of the kidneys; and abnormal leakage of
protein into the urine. Hypertension (high blood pressure)
often accompanies kidney disease, while other diseases, such
as diabetes, may damage kidney function.
How
has animal research helped people with kidney disease?
Thanks largely
to experiments with dogs and other animals the artificial
kidney was developed to take over kidney function (kidney
dialysis). In 1995 over 200,000 people in the U.S. were saved
from premature death by the use of kidney dialysis - over
7,000 in Michigan alone. Kidney transplantation, the oldest
and most successful form of large organ transplantation in
the U.S., benefited over 11,900 patients - over 450 in Michigan.
Yet just over 30 years ago physicians didn't know if they
could successfully transplant kidneys. With painstaking work
involving research with dogs this lifesaving procedure became
a reality. While surgeons perfected transplantation techniques,
physiologists and immunologists also used dogs to understand
the mechanism of organ rejection.
Is
animal research still necessary?
Yes. It is not
possible to study kidney failure, for example, by looking
only at cells or pieces of tissues. Scientists must be able
to observe the complicated interaction of the many structures
of the kidney. Researchers in Michigan are using animals to
investigate vascular diseases and how they lead to kidney
failure. At Henry Ford Hospital biochemical abnormalities
in the filtering mechanisms of rats are being studied. At
Michigan State University dogs are aiding researchers in developing
better diagnostic procedures for determining kidney diseases.
At the University of Michigan rats and rabbits are being used
to better understand the mechanisms that cause rejection of
kidney transplants.
What's
ahead for research on kidney disease?
While research
has led to improved treatment many kidney diseases still remain.
Among these are cancer of the kidneys, defective kidneys at
birth, and nephrosis, a disorder of early childhood. The next
steps critical to kidney research are finding mechanisms to
prevent individuals from developing end stage renal failure
from diseases such as glomerulonephritis. Continued animal
research will be an integral part of the effort required to
accomplish these goals
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