The Center for Disease Control says 30 million Americans are estimated to have chronic kidney disease, which can trigger heart disease and stroke and other serious health consequences. Researchers at the University of Virginia are seeking ways to help kidneys repair themselves.
Working with mice, scientists seeking to regrow damaged kidneys have discovered blocked kidneys can repair themselves after the obstruction is removed.
“We found that the kidney vasculature has a great capacity to regenerate.” That's Dr. Sequiera-Lopez of the Child Research Center. She and her colleagues are looking for ways to speed surgical intervention after the birth of babies with damaged kidneys.
They say if they know exactly how kidney obstruction causes damage, they can better position doctors to combat it. “So that we will have alternative therapy for people who really need it.” Ultimately, she says, the same therapeutic techniques can help both babies and adults with kidney disease
