Week 16: Kidney & Urine formation

12/16/2018

10 Comments

Dec 17-21
Posts Are Due By Midnight On Saturday Dec. 21st

10 Comments

Ujala Janjua link

12/19/2018 03:55:07 pm

Progressive kidney diseases often result in the destruction of the blood filtering structures known as the glomerulus. These structures filter out toxins from the blood, while helping retain essential proteins in the blood of the patient.
Most podocyte cell functions are also destroyed, proteins from the blood spill into the urine.

Certain kidney diseases activate a protein, called Rac1, which in turn produces a different protein, called TRPC5, in a damaging feedback loop. The researchers were able to design and test various compounds to find one that could actually interrupt this process.

The research team discovered that a small molecule, named AC1903, succeeded in protecting the kidney’s filtration cells using rat models. According to the study’s authors, even when the animals began treatment at advanced stages of the disease, AC1903 was able to prevent further loss of filtration units and restore kidney function.

Vanessa

12/21/2018 09:29:35 pm

A new study performed by Boston Medical Center (BMC) and faculty at the Boston University School of Medicine shows that urine drug testing can be a useful tool to treat patients with opioid use disorder in a primary care setting. Office-based addiction treatment has become a key strategy in combating the opioid epidemic in the United States, where patients get treatment for their disease in a primary care setting with close monitoring during their recovery. However, doctors are still wondering what's a better way to monitor for illicit substance use, especially when patients do not report it. Researchers that were conducting this study correlated the frequency of patients' self-reported substance use and the results of their UDTs (urine drug tests). It showed that 76% of UDTs positive results for cocaine and 57% of those positive for opioids occurred when patients did not disclose substance use in their treatment visit. Not only that, but rates of positive UDTs without self-reported substance use were higher earlier in treatment. Using more UDTs to monitor substance addiction usages in patients will really help with stabilizing the patient in their recovery.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181220130206.htm

Ishita Katyal link

12/22/2018 09:04:30 am

The kidneys filter waste out of your blood to produce urine, and the urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder. In kidney dysplasia, the tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder, called ureters, don’t develop completely, so urine collects inside the kidney and form fluid-filled sacs called cysts. Kidney dysplasia is congenital, so it’s a condition people are born with. The cysts are non-cancerous, and they look like a bunch of grapes covering the kidney.

Donna link

12/22/2018 05:23:14 pm

Interesting Facts About Human Kidneys:

1. The blood flow in kidneys is higher than the blood flow in heart, liver and brain.

2. Kidneys measure around 4.5 inches in length.

3. Kidneys are no bigger than a standard computer mouse or a cell phone.

4. Each individual kidney weighs around 4-6 ounces.

5. In case of new born human babies, the kidney to body weight ratio is 3 times the kidney to body weight ratio in adults.

Abdul Al Riahi

12/22/2018 05:39:52 pm

A kidney stone is a buildup of solid material that clumps together within the urine and forms within the kidney. Kidney stones are usually hard because they are made up mainly of crystals. Almost all
(98%) of the kidney stone weight is made up of crystals. But kidney stones also have soft mushy parts called matrix.The soft part is usually only 2% of the kidney stone weight.This soft matrix material can be made of proteins, sugars, water or a combination of them

Types of kidney stones

1. Calcium stones
Calcium stones are the most common type of kidney stone and form if there's too much calcium in the urine, which can be due to:
-an inherited condition called hypercalcuria, which leads to large amounts of calcium in urine
-an overactive parathyroid gland (the parathyroid glands help to regulate the amount of calcium in your body)

2.Struvite stones
Struvite stones are often caused by infections, and they most commonly occur after a urinary tract infection that's lasted a long time. Struvite stones are more common in women than men.

3.Uric acid stones
Uric acid stones can form if there's a large amount of acid in your urine. They may be caused by:
-eating a high-protein diet that includes lots of meat
-an inherited condition that causes higher than normal levels of acid in the body
-chemotherapy

4.Cystine stones
Cystine stones are the rarest type of kidney stone. They're caused by an inherited condition called cystinuria, which affects the amount of acid that is passed in your urine.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/kidney-stones/causes/

Shehryar Suleman

12/22/2018 06:05:41 pm

Healthy kidneys filter about 200 liters of blood a day, as well as help regulate blood pressure and direct the production of red blood cells. But they can be damaged by diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure and even the use of some over-the-counter medications and supplements.

CKD – a loss of kidney function that can take place over a period of months or years – often goes undiagnosed in its early stages when it may still be treated by medication, exercise and diet changes. Once the disease progresses to kidney failure, the only options for survival are dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant.

Some facts include:
1.The leading causes of CKD are diabetes and high blood pressure, which cause an estimated 44 percent and 28 percent, respectively, of new U.S. kidney failure cases. Diabetes rates are rising in large part due to increasing obesity rates.
2. CKD progresses in stages and, if untreated, can lead to complete loss of kidney function. At CKD stage five, when both kidneys fail completely, the only options for survival are dialysis or a kidney transplant.
3.CKD affects people of all ages. However, those 60 and over are the most likely to develop CKD.
4.About 430,000 Americans with kidney failure rely on regular blood-filtering dialysis treatments to survive.
4.More than 90,000 U.S. patients are waiting for kidney transplants, but only about 18,000 of those will get a kidney transplant each year.

https://www.freseniuskidneycare.com/media/2014-and-2015-releases/ten-surprising-facts-everyone-should-know-about-kidney-disease

Kassem

12/22/2018 06:06:58 pm

Can a person with one kidney participate in sports?

Physical exercise is healthy and good for you. However, it's important for someone with only one kidney to be careful and protect it from injury. This recommendation applies to anyone with a single kidney, including people who were born with one kidney and people with a kidney transplant. Some doctors think it is best to avoid contact sports like football, boxing, hockey, soccer, martial arts, or wrestling.
Wearing protective gear such as padded vests under clothing can help protect the kidney from injury during sports. This can help lessen the risk, but it won't take away the risk.

https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/onekidney

Michelle K

12/22/2018 06:26:30 pm

In Chinese soft-shelled turtles, they dunked their heads in puddles and gargle when on dry land. Why do they do that? They are urinating from their mouths. It’s essential for maintaining these turtle’s lifestyles. Their bodies break down protein and produce toxic ammonia, packaging it as urea. They cannot just drink water and flush it out because their kidneys would be overwhelmed by the salts. Instead, these turtles have molecular pumps in their mouths that help move the urea out. Researchers have found that animals generally have to drink lots of water to create urine, however, these turtles can’t do the same because it spends most of the time in salty waters. Drinking high amounts of it could be unhealthy so these turtles have evolved to work around this problem through oral urination.
Source: http://discovermagazine.com/2013/april/3-you-like-turtles-urine-for-a-surprise

Marina S link

12/22/2018 07:04:36 pm

This article discusses kidney stones; what they are, causes, and risk factors. To begin with, kidney stones are a solid piece of crystallized mineral that forms in the kidney from substances in the urine. Kidney stones are most commonly found within people the age of 35-45 years old and men are 5% more likely than woman to get them. Kidney stones form when there is a decrease in urine volume or an excess of minerals (Na, K ions etc) in the urine- mainly caused by dehydration. Symptoms of kidney stones are sudden and include excruciating pain in the lower back and/or abdomen. They can also cause blood in the urine or urinary issues.

Sukhleen

12/22/2018 07:15:09 pm

Kidneys are essential parts of the human body and help filter blood and eliminate waste in the form of urine. When certain chemicals in your kidneys stick together and form a crystal structure that is called a kidney stone. Kidney stones are very painful and may range from the size of a grain of sand to a golf ball. Most stones are made from calcium oxalate. These stones can cause kidney damage and urinary tract infections. If left untreated, bacteria can start to grow around and cause an infection. Long term effects can be that there ends up being a build up of pressure in the kidneys.

Source: https://www.kidney.ca/kidney-stones

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