News Release
Dec. 30, 2024
Among people with dialysis-dependent kidney failure, a form of psychological therapy called pain coping skills training reduced how much pain got in the way of their daily lives, also known as pain interference. The clinical trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that training people on how to manage pain reduced the extent to which pain affected their work and social activities, mood, and relationships. The pain coping skills training, which was adapted for people undergoing long-term dialysis, also improved other effects of pain, including the intensity of pain, depression, anxiety, and quality of life.
News Release
Oct. 28, 2024
A study from researchers at National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their collaborators revealed a significant genetic risk factor for kidney disease in people from Ghana and Nigeria. Their study demonstrated that having just one risk variant in a gene known as APOL1 can significantly increase the risk of developing kidney disease. APOL1 is important for the immune system and variants of the gene are linked to increased risk of chronic kidney disease.
News Release
April 4, 2024
Researchers have shown that dangerous cysts, which form over time in polycystic kidney disease (PKD), can be prevented by a single normal copy of a defective gene. This means the potential exists that scientists could one day tailor a gene therapy to treat the disease. They also discovered that a type of drug, known as a glycoside, can sidestep the effects of the defective gene in PKD. The discoveries could set the stage for new therapeutic approaches to treating PKD, which affects millions worldwide.
Research Update
Jan. 10, 2024
NIDDK-supported research is improving the assessment of kidney function by providing accurate alternatives to race-based tools.
Research Update
Jan. 10, 2024
2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the NIDDK-supported Diabetes Research Centers, which have transformed the field of diabetes research.
Research Update
Jan. 10, 2024
NIDDK supports research to develop automated, more reliable measurement tools for kidney stone detection.
Research Update
Jan. 10, 2024
Decades of NIH-supported research has led to FDA approval of islet transplantation for a limited subset of people with type 1 diabetes.
Research Update
Jan. 10, 2024
NIDDK continues to support a highly collaborative research program to better understand NAFLD/NASH and to identify new treatment approaches.
News Release
July 19, 2023
A study funded by the NIH created the most comprehensive atlas of the human kidney to advance progress in understanding and treating kidney disease. The Kidney Tissue Atlas marks an important milestone for the multicenter study, called the Kidney Precision Medicine Project (KPMP), which began in 2017 with the aim of improving treatment for kidney disease.
News Release
April 27, 2023
A study supported by the National Institutes of Health found that people who experienced acute kidney injury (AKI) during a hospitalization, including those admitted with AKI or who developed AKI in the hospital, were more likely to revisit the hospital or die shortly after discharge, compared to people hospitalized without AKI. AKI is a sudden loss of kidney function that usually lasts for a short time. The research, funded by NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), was published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
Research Update
April 6, 2023
New research in mice identified a genetic factor that may shed light on why some people with diabetes are prone to diabetic kidney disease.
Research Update
Feb. 28, 2023
Diabetes diagnoses continue to rise in young people in the U.S., especially among racial and ethnic minority youth.
Research Update
Jan. 17, 2023
Researchers analyzed symptoms following placement of stents after urinary stone surgery, aiming to understand risk factors for bothersome symptoms.
News Release
Jan. 5, 2023
A research team supported by the National Institutes of Health has developed a new approach to better understand the biology of polycystic kidney disease (PKD), and often-life-threatening genetic disorder that affects millions worldwide. Scientists combined two ways to model the disorder — organ-in-a-dish and organ-on-a-chip technologies — to show the role of glucose, a sugar commonly found in blood, in forming PKD cysts.
Research Update
Dec. 27, 2022
Researchers have clarified what genetic variations can cause polycystic kidney disease in people.
Research Update
Dec. 23, 2022
Organ-on-a-chip technology has provided new insight into how glucose uptake affects cyst formation within the kidney.
News Release
Nov. 2, 2022
Taking a personalized approach to kidney disease screening for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) may reduce the time that chronic kidney disease (CKD) goes undetected, according to a new analysis performed by the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications study group, which is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. The finding, published in Diabetes Care, provides the basis for the first evidence-based kidney screening model for people with T1D.
Research Update
Oct. 19, 2022
New research using two mouse models has investigated how different types of cells respond to kidney injuries.
Research Update
Aug. 11, 2022
People have a lower chance of future kidney stone problems if smaller, asymptomatic kidney stones are also removed during surgery to remove larger, symptomatic ones.
Research Update
June 8, 2022
Researchers have produced a reference source that shows in detail how healthy adult human kidneys are organized at the cellular level.
Research Update
March 1, 2022
Previously identified groups of genetic variations that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes may also influence the risk of developing other metabolic conditions.
Research Update
Feb. 2, 2022
Two recent findings shed new light on how the immune system can affect kidney health.
Research Update
Jan. 26, 2022
For many decades, the NIDDK and the NIH have supported foundational research to better understand the metabolic dysfunction underlying primary hyperoxaluria type 1.
Research Update
Jan. 17, 2022
Diabetic foot ulcers may be preventable through early and intensive control of blood glucose levels in people with type 1 diabetes.
Research Update
Dec. 23, 2021
Scientists recently used a new strategy to identify, screen, and test possible new drugs to treat hyperparathyroidism by targeting the parathyroid hormone type 1 receptor protein.
Research Update
Nov. 26, 2021
Researchers identified byproducts of metabolism that are associated with specific symptoms of uremia—a condition in which poor blood filtration from reduced kidney function leads to a buildup of toxins in the blood.
Research Update
Nov. 7, 2021
Researchers have observed differences in brain structure in children with chronic kidney disease compared to children without the disease.
Research Update
Oct. 21, 2021
Study following a cohort of adults with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease showed a direct link between disease stage and outcomes.
Research Update
Oct. 11, 2021
In mice, kidney damage caused by autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease can largely be reversed by activating the normal version of a faulty gene.
News Release
Sept. 23, 2021
In a study supported by the National Institutes of Health, researchers propose changing a key measure in kidney disease diagnosis and treatment to eliminate the use of race as a variable, providing a non-biased kidney function test that does not compromise accuracy. The study suggests use of a blood lab test called cystatin C, which does not vary by a person’s race, to replace the current lab test called creatinine, which does.
News Release
July 28, 2021
People with type 2 diabetes diagnosed during youth have a high risk of developing complications at early ages and have a greater chance of multiple complications within 15 years after diagnosis. The findings are the culmination of a first-of-its-kind trial funded largely by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Research Update
July 27, 2021
A recent report described a previously unknown role of exosomes in progression of polycystic kidney disease and identified a compound capable of delaying cyst growth in mouse models of the disease.
Research Update
May 4, 2021
The protein KIM-1 plays a critical role in progression of diabetic kidney disease and may serve as a promising therapeutic target.
Research Update
Jan. 27, 2021
Over the past two decades, researchers have come to appreciate that not only can similar lower urinary tract symptoms result from different problems within its organs and structures, but that not all symptoms originate in the urinary tract itself.
News Release
Jan. 21, 2021
People on a low-fat, plant-based diet ate fewer daily calories but had higher insulin and blood glucose levels, compared to when they ate a low-carbohydrate, animal-based diet, according to a small but highly controlled study at the National Institutes of Health. Led by researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the study compared the effects of the two diets on calorie intake, hormone levels, body weight, and more.
Research Update
Nov. 16, 2020
A large team of scientists has developed and tested a robust research pipeline for rigorously collecting and analyzing kidney biopsy samples.
Research Update
Sept. 21, 2020
A new study has revealed a potential novel blood-based biomarker for assessing kidney health.
News Release
Aug. 26, 2020
A clinical trial at four pediatric diabetes centers in the United States has found that a new artificial pancreas system — which automatically monitors and regulates blood glucose levels — is safe and effective at managing blood glucose levels in children as young as age six with type 1 diabetes. The trial was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Research Update
Aug. 24, 2020
A study of people who have had type 1 diabetes for many years provides new insights into how the disease affects the brain.
Research Update
July 21, 2020
A noninvasive technology using ultrasound beams to lift and reposition an object in a living animal could potentially be used to treat people with urinary stone disease.
Research Update
May 18, 2020
New findings in mice could help explain the high rates of urinary tract infection recurrence in humans and suggest novel ways to treat them.
Research Update
March 6, 2020
A new study has described different trajectories of chronic kidney disease progression in children that will aid in identifying those at high risk for progressive disease.
Research Update
Feb. 14, 2020
Scientists demonstrated that rates of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes continue to increase in people under the age of 20 in the United States, with higher rates of increase among racial/ethnic minority youth.
Research Update
Jan. 30, 2020
Due to rapid technological advances made over the past few years, engineered kidney tissues and organoids have emerged as promising tools to accelerate chronic kidney disease research.
News Release
Jan. 21, 2020
A National Institutes of Health study found that chronic treatment with mirabegron, a drug approved to treat overactive bladder, activated brown fat in a small group of healthy women and had several other beneficial metabolic effects. The research, led by Dr. Aaron Cypess at the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), was published online on January 21 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Research Update
Dec. 13, 2019
New findings regarding blood vessels in the kidney could have important implications for developing artificial kidney technologies.
Research Update
Nov. 4, 2019
Fundamental new insights into kidney development and organization and how they differ between male and female mice could aid research efforts to battle human kidney diseases.
News Release
July 12, 2019
Moderately reducing caloric intake over a period of two years significantly improved cardiometabolic risk factors in young and middle-aged, non-obese adults, according to new findings from the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) trial. The study is a multicenter randomized controlled trial supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health.
Research Update
July 10, 2019
Research suggests that zebrafish could be used to study the role of sleep in health and disease.
News Release
June 7, 2019
Taking a daily vitamin D supplement does not prevent type 2 diabetes in adults at high risk, according to results from a study funded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. The Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes (D2d) study enrolled 2,423 adults and was conducted at 22 sites across the United States.
