Japanese Society of Nephrology

WKD2010 Japan

2010-03-08T00:00:00Z

WKD2010 in Japan was held on March 7, Sunday. The venue was Tokyo Garden Palace. This year, the slogan was "Stop Kidney Failure: Individual Management Strategies in regional area". Following the opening remark from the JSN president Prof. Makino, official messages were addressed from H Ueda (Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor), Y Karasawa (Japan Medical Association), T Sakai (The Kidney Foundation, Japan), and T Miyamoto (Japan Association of Kidney Disease Patients). Three lectures were given from Dr E Imai (Nagoya University) on KDIGO report, Prof S Ito (Tohoku University) on Mechanisms on the development of CVD in CKD, and Dr T Uchida (Japan Medical Association) on JMA policy for CKD prevention: Liaison for DM treatment. Several reports were addressed on the regional CKD activities from Prof. K Yamagata on FROM-J, Dr Y Tsukamoto on AFCKDI, and Dr S Takahashi on KEEP Japan. This event was organized by JCKDI with full support from JSN and JSDT.

AKI Summit Workshop

2010-03-01T00:00:00Z

AKI Summit Workshop was held in San Diego on February 27-28, 2010. The Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) constitutes multidisciplinary international group of researchers who are fostering improved understanding of AKI through a collaborative network structure, which integrates clinical and translational research groups. Chinese Society of Nephrology (CSN) and Indian Society of Nephrology (ISN) are already involved. Recently, JSDT received an official invitation where Drs K Iseki, K Kaizu, and N Hirawa attended. In addition to CKD, AKI will be the target of clinical research. This workshop was held with the 15th International Conference on Continuous Renal Replacement Therapies (CRRT2010).

ISN Nexus Symposium in Geneva

2010-02-21T22:12:27Z

ISN Nexus Symposium on "Fibrosis and the Kidney: Emerging Culprit in Pathogenesis and Advances in Therapy" will be held on 30 June to 2 July 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Symposium will feature presentations on the topics such as 1) nephropathology of fibrosis, 2) basic and translational aspects of EMT, 3) interaction of hypoxia, Nox, and fibrosis, 4) study end-points, imaging fibrosis and biomarkers, 5) development, angiogenesis, and epigenetics, 6) manipulation of growth factors in animal models and patients, 7) inflammatory mediators of fibrosis, and 8) clinical approaches to modulate fibrosis and stem cells. Deadline for abstract submission is March 1, 2010. Co-Chairs of the symposium are Floge J (Germany), Neilson E (USA), and Sharma K (USA). For more information visit: jbateman@isn-online.org

The Sixth Summer School of Renal Pathology

2010-02-15T00:11:48Z

The Sixth Summer School for Renal Pathology will be held on September 4 (Saturday) and 5 (Sunday) at Asahikawa, Hokkaido. This summer school is a part of JSN activities for continuing education for renal pathology. The main purpose is to standardize the histological diagnosis of renal biopsy specimen. Therefore, young physicians and those who would like to learn more about renal pathology are the expected audiences. There will be lectures, small group discussions, and sessions to meet the experts. It would be a great opportunities to strengthen the specialties. The venue is Asahikawa Medical University and the expected number of attendees will be 80. Fee is 20,000 yen for handouts including CD-ROM, lunch and others. Former school sites were Matsumoto (1st), Sapporo (2nd), Fukuoka (3rd), Osaka (4th), and Kagawa (5th) which were finished with great success.
For more information: patho2@asahikawa-med.ac.jp

ISN Forefronts Symposium

2010-02-07T23:58:47Z

The ISN Forefronts Symposium on Induction and Resolution of Renal Inflammation　will be held on 6-9 May 2010, Sylt (Germany) . This Symposium will be taking place on the Isle of Sylt off Germany. It will provide a unique opportunity for nephrologists and leading researchers from other disciplines to exchange views on the mechanisms driving inflammation as it relates to kidney diseases and to identify the normal means by which inflammation is prevented or reversed. Key topics include: 1) Innate Immune response: the classical players, 2) Resolution of inflammation, 3) Mediators of Inflammation, 4) Innate Immune response: new cellular players, 5) Adaptive Immune response: T Lymphocytes, 6) Adaptive Immune response: B Lymphocytes, and 7) New concepts in renal autoimmune disease. Abstract submissions close on 15 February 2010. Co-Chairs are: Richard J. Johnson (Denver, USA), Christian Kurts (Bonn, Germany), Ulf Panzer (Hamburg, Germany), and Rolf A. K. Stahl (Hamburg, Germany).
For more information: http://dir.isn-online.org/ISN/forefronts/inflammation/registration_travel.html

CKD Seminar for co-medical staffs

2010-02-01T00:29:51Z

JSN, subcommittee for co-medical staff education, organized the "Seminar for CKD therapy manager" to prevail the concept of CKD throughout Japan, in particular those working at clinics, hospitals, and other medical facilities. Management of CKD require many professionals such as dietician, nurse, public health nurse, laboratory workers and they should collaborate as a team. The first seminar will be held on March 28, Sunday, 9am to 3pm at Tokyo Station Conference, Tokyo. The tuition is 5,000 yen and the maximum attendee is 200. First come first served. To register, visit workshop@mcmuse.co.jp. Speakers will be Prof. Y Iino, K Yamagata, T Watanabe, T Mitarai, and A Yamada. For more information, visit www.jsn.or.jp.

The 4th Asian Forum of CKI Initiative in Seoul (4th AFCKDI2010)

2010-01-25T00:04:05Z

The fourth Asian Forum of CKI Initiative will be held on June 4 (Friday) in Seoul, South Korea. This meeting is a pre-conference meeting of the 12th Asian Pacific Congress of Nephrology (APCN2010). The 4th AFCKDI meeting will be a workshop style of conference and the main theme are the reports and discussion of the workgroup initiative (open for every APCN participant). The conference will start from 10AM and finish at 4PM (10-12AM) for CKD Registry and Risk, (1-2PM) for GFR and serum Cr, (2-4PM) for CKD guideline. Invited speakers will be announced soon. Chairman of the International Advisory Council, AFCKDI is Dr Yusuke Tsukamoto, M.D. Saitama, Japan.

The 3rd Japan-China-Korea Kidney Conference

2010-01-17T22:00:00Z

The 3rd Japan-China-Korea Kidney Conference will be held on March 13, Saturday in Seoul, Korea. The venue is Chosun Hotel, 37 Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. This conference is organized with the collaboration of　Korean Society of Nephrology (Prof. S Kim), Chinese Society of Nephrology, and Asian Integrated Nephrology Forum (AINF) of JSN (Prof. Y Tomino & Prof. K Nitta). The topic is Diabetic Nephropathy. Several invited speakers from three countries will talk about the topic. The first Conference was held in Tokyo on March 22, 2008, Saturday, in Tokyo, the second was on March 21, Saturday, 2009 in Shanghai, China.
For more information: tsuge@med.juntendo.ac.jp, or www.jsn.or.jp

Nephron NEWS

2010-01-14T01:17:36Z

Issue 1,2010 [January 12, 2010]

Nephron Digest wishes all its readers a Happy New Year

Professor Meguid El Nahas, PhD, FRCP
Editor, Nephron Clinical Practice
nephron@sheffield.ac.uk
m.el-nahas@sheffield.ac.uk

Digest of issue 114/2/2010

Ureteral Endometriosis: Rare and Underdiagnosed Cause of Kidney Dysfunction. Claudio Ponticelli and colleagues, Italy (Nephron Clin Pract 2010;114:c89-c94) draw attention to an unusual cause of ureteral obstruction and hydronephrosis in premenopausal women, namely ureteral endometriosis. They provide the reader with clues to diagnosis and recommend a high index of suspicion in those at risk. Moreover, they also supply recommendations for comprehensive monitoring, diagnosis and management. This minireview points to an uncommon and probably underdiagnosed cause of ureteral obstruction in young women.

Serum Cystatin C-Based Formulas for Prediction of Glomerular Filtration Rate. Radovan Hojs and colleagues, Slovenia (Nephron Clin Pract 2010;114:c118-c126) argue that most serum cystatin C-based GFR equations are reliable markers of GFR in patients with CKD; according to the authors, the simplest formula (100/cystatin C) could be accurate enough for GFR estimation in daily clinical practice. This observation is at variance with a publication that concluded that all eight cystatin C-based GFR estimating equations underestimated or overestimated GFR in a Chinese population (Sun, Y. et al., Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2009 Dec 27). Moreover, a Scandinavian study showed that intra-individual variance was greater for cystatin C than for creatinine in healthy subjects and CKD, thus recommending serum creatinine as the pref erred marker for serial monitoring of renal function in individuals with stable muscle mass (Reinhard, M. et al., Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2009;69:831-836). These publications highlight the fact that knowledge of the merit and pitfalls of the various tools available to estimate GFR is essential for data interpretation (reviewed by White et al, Transplant Rev 2010;24:18-27).

Medication Compliance among Dialysis Patients. Ze'ev Katzir and colleagues, Israel (Nephron Clin Pract 2010;114:c151-c157) show that dialysis patients appear to benefit from comprehensive guidance about medication in terms of compliance. Nonadherence to oral medication in haemodialysis patients is still an underestimated but life-threatening behaviour (Schmid, H. et al., Eur J Med Res. 2009;14:185-190). A recent publication highlighted depression as a major contributor to non-adherence to medication in the dialysis population (Cukor, D. et al., Kidney Int. 2009;75:1223-1229). It is therefore important to take poor compliance very seriously and address a number of clinical, psychological, biochemical/haematological as well as pharmacological variables to optimise adherence to medication amongst patients on renal rep lacement therapy. These could be complemented by careful instructions, guidance and reinforcement at regular intervals.

For previous issues of Nephron Digest or to sign up for future issues, click here

Nephron NEWS

2009-12-25T01:23:31Z

Issue 9 [December 2009]

I take the opportunity of the December issue of Nephron Digest to send all the readers of Nephron Digest the warmest seasonal greetings and wish you a Happy New Year.

Professor Meguid El Nahas, PhD, FRCP
Editor, Nephron Clinical Practice
nephron@sheffield.ac.uk
m.el-nahas@sheffield.ac.uk

Digest of issue 113/4/2009

Locatelli and colleagues (Nephron Clin Pract 2009;113:c286-c293) provide a critical appraisal of the literature on the use of inhibitors of the RAAS system in CKD. They warn against misuse of these agents, either alone or in combination, in the elderly and those with ischaemic nephropathies. This coincides with a recent publication showing that stopping inhibitors of the RAAS system in patients with CKD5 can be beneficial, with reversal of previously relentless renal functional decline and delaying onset of ESRD (Ahmed et al, Nephrol Dial Transplant 2009 Oct 10).

Thuraisingham and Yaqoob (Nephron Clin Pract 2009;113:c294-c300) examine the evidence upon which guidelines for the management of hypertension in CKD are based. They also take a critical look at the use of ACE inhibitors/ARBs in CKD, highlighting sudden or progressive deterioration of kidney function in some patients treated with these agents. On the other hand, they report a favourable response when RAAS inhibitors were discontinued and go on to stress that treatment decisions should primarily rely on efficacy of BP lowering, tolerability and cost-benefit ratio. They caution against uncritical and indiscriminate applications of guidelines, reminding the reader that most of the current guidelines are based on expert opinion and little supporting evidence.

Vij et al. (Nephron Clin Pract 2009;113:c281-c285) conclude that urine culture should be requested to confirm UTIs in dialysis patients. Alternate tests such as pyuria (low specificity), urinary nitrites levels (very poor sensitivity) are much less reliable.

Yoon and colleagues (Nephron Clin Pract 2009;113:c241-c249) report the outcomes of renal allografts coming from spousal, emotionally related donors compared to living unrelated donors (LUDs). Spousal donor kidneys compare favourably, showing a similar outcome to kidneys taken from better HLA-matched and younger LUDs. It is important to caution against LUDs as the Istanbul declaration of 2008 takes a very strong stand against LUDs, they often being the victims of organ trafficking and abuse (Am J Transplant 2009;9:2466-2469).

Obituary

2009-12-20T22:00:00Z

We lost following honorable members this year.
Dr. T. Ofuji, who was a professor emeritus of the Okayama University and the 21st President of JSN General Meeting died on April 2, 2009.
Dr B Shimizu (Hiroshima), died on March 21, 2009.
Dr M Nakazono (Tochigi) died on August 1, 2009.
JSN express sincere thanks to them and acknowledge the contribution to the society.

Concerns with the ESA use for stage 3 to 5 CKD

2009-12-13T22:11:26Z

At the 2009 Fall JSN board meeting, concerns for the possible adverse reaction of the ESA (Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agent, Darbepoetin) for patients with stage 3 to 5 CKD were expressed. According to the recently published paper, N Engl J Med 2009; 361: 2019-32), death rates due to stroke and malignancies were significantly higher than that of the placebo group. In this paper, the benefits of ESA were only evident in reducing the red-cell transfusion and modest improvement in patient-reported fatigue. There were no differences in the retardation of progression to ESRD or death dates.
JSN is currently collecting data to prove or disprove these findings, if not scientifically. Questionnaire were sent to the JSN members.　Dr E Imai is the principal investigator on this project.　

JSN Fall Executive Board Meeting

2009-12-06T22:00:00Z

The JSN Fall Executive Board Meeting, chaired by Prof H Makino, was held on Nov 30, 2009, in Tokyo. Important progress and future plans in each committee were reported and discussed.
JSN official journal, Clinical Experimental Nephrology is growing and will soon get the Impact Factor. The number of submitted paper was 185 (85 overseas) in 2008 and 171 (87 overseas) in November 2009. The current number of member was 8599 including 248 new members. Progress of the ISN-Nexus meeting was reported: so-far 145 abstracts were registered among them 28 were from overseas. Prof. Tomino was appointed for the president of the APCN and therefore JSN would support the coming APCN2015 (or 2014?). The vote for the venue will be at the APCN2010 Seoul. Several JSN registries were all reportedly in good progress. To our regret, Lancet paper published on 2003 by one of the JSN members was retracted due to several faults. The 53rd JSN General Scientific Meeting will be held on June 16-18, 2010 at Kobe International Conference Center (JKW2010).
For more information, visit JSN at www.jsn.or.jp.

WKD2010: Amazing Kidneys

2009-11-29T21:50:00Z

The World Kidney Day (WKD) 2010 will be 11 March, 2010. The World Kidney Day Team, Julie Cooper, ISN - WKD Project Director Jan Lantink, IFKF - WKD Project Director, Marie-Agnès Cederborg, ISN - WKD Project Manager are calling activities for the supports. This year's theme is "Protect your kidneys, control diabetes". The early detection and treatment of CKD can slow or halt the progression to ESRD and CVD.
JSN has been acting for WKD such as handing out flyers and dipstick on a public square, lectures, and press conferences. Details for WKD2010 will be confirmed at the 2009 fall board meeting which will be held on November 30.
For more information: info@worldkidneyday.org,
website: www.worldkidneyday.org

APCN 2010 in Korea

2009-11-16T02:10:01Z

The 12th Asian Pacific Congress of Nephrology (APCN2010) will be held on June 5-8 in COEX, Seoul, Korea. COEX is Korea's most prominent international convention and exhibition center and a great landmark in Seoul. The president is Ho Yung Lee, and the chairman is Sung Kyu Ha. Online registration and abstract submission are available at the website (www.apcn2010.org ). APCN will provide a platform for knowledge exchange and networking in the field of Nephrology, in particular Asian countries. The abstract submission deadline is January 15, 2010 and the Pre-registration deadline is February 28, 2010. For young doctors, APSN Award and the Travel Award will be given during the Congress. Before the APCN2010, there will be a meeting of AFCKDI on June 4.
For more information: apcn@intercom.co.kr , website: www.apcn2010.org