Archive for kidney failure
Four things to know about your child’s kidneys
If you’re like most parents, you probably know that the kidneys filter waste from the body and produce urine. But fewer people understand the full extent of the role that these bean-shaped organs play in our health. “When we meet with families, we typically educate them on all the responsibilities that kidneys have in the ... Read More
We are Boston Children’s: Meet Isis and Emily
While interviewing patients for the Pediatric Transplant Center, writer Emily Williams was struck by the long journeys that transplant patients face while waiting for an organ donation match. She decided to do something that no employee had ever done — donate her kidney to a Boston Children’s patient. Watch how Emily and her donor recipient, ... Read More
Is rapamycin the new aspirin?
I’ve heard it said that if aspirin had to go through today’s FDA approval process, it would never be approved for over-the-counter use because it just does so many things. Lately, it’s been hard to cover biomedical research at Children’s without stumbling on another drug that’s also FDA-approved and also seems to have multiple uses: ... Read More
A new target in polycystic kidney disease
In polycystic kidney disease, fluid-filled cysts gradually take over the kidneys, forcing patients to go on chronic dialysis — or wait for a kidney transplant. Hopes for a cure were raised when animal models showed promise in drugs inhibiting mTOR, a protein that coordinates cell growth and is over-active in PKD. But recent clinical trials ... Read More