CKD overview video: Dr. Bonvertre

By Bill Peckham

The videos are no longer available at the links in this post, instead all the videos are embedded and can be watched at the CIMIT blog in this post. The five videos are embedded in the same order as they were presented in 2008. My review of the videos are all listed in the Future of Dialysis Category on DSEN.

On Saturday I wrote The future of dialysis: T and G membranes about CIMIT's forum: Quest for a Wearable Kidney: Will Nanotechnology Make a Difference? . This forum seems to be one of a series of forums on various medical topics. They're open to the public (wish I lived in Boston)  and are put on by CIMT to further their mission of improving medical care by spreading knowledge. The forum weaves in an evaluation of the technology from a business perspective which is critical. As was seen with the Aksys PHD and early efforts to improve the artificial kidney the speakers mention.

Quest for a Wearable Kidney: Will Nanotechnology Make a Difference? looks at work to improve dialysis by improving the artificial kidney, the dialyzer. The whole forum is very good and there is a lot to it - five video segments; I thought this week I would review one video segment a day. The first video, about ten minutes, long features Joseph Bonventre, MD, PhD, Robert Ebert Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School; Director, Renal Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Dr. Bonvertre gives the overview of the kidney, CKD, and previous "new approaches" to improving the dialysis experience. I think Dr. Bonvetre is presenting the case for relevance and establishing that there is a market for new and better devices: the US already spends a lot of money treating this disease; there are a lot of people in the dialysis pipeline. Usually I see this sort of presentation it is at a renal industry event so often the relevance piece is taken for granted or addressed in passing.

CIMIT is trying to catalyze development of innovative technology, emphasizing minimally invasive diagnosis and therapy. If any therapy is invasive it's hemodialysis, particularly incenter hemodialysis, so welcome CIMIT we can use the help. Video one gives a good overview of CKD and dialysis but it misses one salient point. After 45 years the incenter dialysis model has worn a deep rut in the course of CKD; it will take a novel approach to get the provision of dialysis out of that rut.

Comments

[linda]

my mother will soon go under dialysis. doctor said until she gets to 10% she is not 15%. i am really scared and dont understand much about dialysis. how long does dialysis last for, isnt it dangerous. and also if they have kidney replacement, can i donate my mother i am 18 years and she is 54. thank you so much.

[Peter Laird, MD]

A very good first place to start on dialysis issues for you and your mother can be found under Bill's daily read on the left column with a link to Home Dialysis Central. They have many articles and even patient blogs to correspond.

HDC can also point you to their related site called Kidney School.

The more informed you and your mother are, the better you will be able to make good decisions together with her doctors.

[Bill Peckham]

I'm sorry to hear about your Mom Linda. Peter's right a great resource to start with is Kidney School. I think you will find a lot of answers there.

Is dialysis dangerous? What is most dangerous is your mother's chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dialysis is like a medication, you need to get enough dialysis to treat the CKD, getting enough dialysis makes everything less dangerous which is why Peter pointed you to HDC. Home is where people can get the most dialysis.

I don't know if you can donate a kidney. Some of it will depend on what caused your Mom's kidney problem - is it something you should keep a watch out for? And how is your health?

I think Peter is right, the more informed you and your mother are, the better you will be able to make good decisions together with her doctors. You can talk with people like yourself whose mom has kidney disease by visiting a discussion board - there are about a dozen different CKD discussion boards they all have a different feel, find one that is right for you so you can talk with people who understand your situation.

[linda]

thanks Peter, and Bill. your comments were very helpful. I recently had a call from my mother's kidney doctor inviting me to learn and have some education about dialysis. I am still very scared and I think every day and night about it, and I dont know wether its dangerous or not, I am very worried.