Cardiac Biomarkers and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in Chronic Kidney Disease: The CRIC Study.

Background We tested associations of cardiac biomarkers of myocardial stretch, injury, inflammation, and fibrosis with the risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in a prospective study of chronic kidney disease patients. Methods and Results The study sample was 3053 participants with chronic kidney disease in the multicenter CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) study who were not identified as having AF at baseline. Cardiac biomarkers, measured at baseline, were NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide), high-sensitivity troponin T, galectin-3, growth differentiation factor-15, and soluble ST-2.

Incidence and Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease in Black and White Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes.

Background And Objectives: Type 2 diabetes and associated CKD disproportionately affect blacks. It is uncertain if racial disparities in type 2 diabetes-associated CKD are driven by biologic factors that influence propensity to CKD or by differences in type 2 diabetes care.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We conducted a analysis of 1937 black and 6372 white participants of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial to examine associations of black race with change in eGFR and risks of developing microalbuminuria, macroalbuminuria, incident CKD (eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.

FGF23 and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Children with CKD.

Background And Objectives: High plasma concentration of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a risk factor for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in adults with CKD, and induces myocardial hypertrophy in experimental CKD. We hypothesized that high FGF23 levels associate with a higher prevalence of LVH in children with CKD.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We performed echocardiograms and measured plasma C-terminal FGF23 concentrations in 587 children with mild-to-moderate CKD enrolled in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) study.

Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Vitamin D Metabolism in Health and CKD.

Background And Objectives: Vitamin D supplements are prescribed to correct low circulating concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. In CKD, vitamin D metabolism is complicated by decreased conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D by CYP27B1 and possibly decreased conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D by CYP24A1. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D metabolism in health and CKD.

Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 and Risk of CKD Progression in Children.

Background And Objectives: Plasma fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) concentrations increase early in the course of CKD in children. High FGF23 levels associate with progression of CKD in adults. Whether FGF23 predicts CKD progression in children is unknown.

Correlates of left ventricular mass in chronic hemodialysis recipients.

We aimed to clarify the correlates of left ventricular mass and secondarily, left ventricular volume, in a cohort of prevalent hemodialysis recipients. Left ventricular hypertrophy is common and left ventricular mass is a widely-accepted surrogate for clinical outcomes in dialysis recipients, who are often subjected to chronic pressure and volume overload. However, the precise pathophysiologic mechanisms of left ventricular hypertrophy in this unique population have not been well understood.

FGF23 or PTH: which comes first in CKD ?

In the past 40 years, disordered mineral metabolism has been among the most intensely studied areas of nephrology. A June 2010 PubMed search for 'secondary hyperparathyroidism and kidney disease' yielded 5866 references. Among these are papers documenting the development and application of numerous therapeutic agents-including calcitriol, vitamin D analogs, phosphate binders, and cinacalcet-that remain in widespread use in the day-to-day management of dialysis patients worldwide.

Chronic kidney disease, hypovitaminosis D, and mortality in the United States.

Low serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD) predicts a higher cardiovascular risk in the general population. Because patients with chronic kidney disease are more likely to have low serum 25OHD, we determined the relationship between hypovitaminosis D and death in this group. Analysis was done using a cohort composed of 3011 patients from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had chronic kidney disease but were not on dialysis and who had a mean follow-up of 9 years.