Genes influence chronic kidney disease risk: Research
April 11, 2016
"We've know for a long time that diabetes, hypertension and family history are strong risk factors for kidney disease, but we have not been able to fully understand why. These findings will ultimately shed light on how and why kidney disease clusters in families and why it occurs in some individuals but not others," said Linda Kao, PhD, MHS, associate professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and the senior Johns Hopkins author on the study.
"By studying the genes identified in this study, we can learn more about basic mechanisms underlying kidney function and disease. These novel insights can form a foundation to improve prevention and therapy of kidney diseases," said the study's lead author, Anna K-ttgen, MD, MPH, an adjunct assistant professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Epidemiology.
"It is exciting to see research from around the world come together to collaborate and unlock the mysteries of kidney disease genetics. We learned that together we can do a lot more than apart," said Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, MHS, professor in the Bloomberg School's departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and the principle investigator of ARIC, a large study contributing to the discovery.
Source: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health