Kidney Foundation launches new Consortia

Today, the Dutch Kidney Foundation officially started two new consortia: NIGRAM and DIPAK. NIGRAM stands for NIjmegen, GRoningen and AMsterdam collaboration and will delineate whether disturbances in the mineral balance cause kidney failure and cardiovascular disorders. Better prevention and treatment of the increased cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease is one of the main challenges in current nephrology, as despite intervention on established risk factors such as blood pressure, dyslipidemia and proteinuria, cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease remains excessively high. A rapidly increasing body of evidence supports involvement of the fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23)-klotho-vitamin D axis. FGF23 increases early in chronic kidney disease, probably driven by dysbalance between dietary phosphate load and renal function, and acts on the kidney and the parathyroid gland, with the net effect of preventing a rise in plasma phosphate. Epidemiological and experimental data suggest that derangements of the FGF23-klotho-vitamin D axis are involved in the cardiovascular complications of chronic kidney disease throughout the course of chronic kidney disease, including its earlier stages, which would be attractive for preventive purposes. It would be timely, therefore, to explore a strategy to translate this rapidly expanding body of knowledge into better treatment and prevention strategies in chronic kidney disease. This project is a joint effort of the Free University Amsterdam (drs. Ter Wee and Vervloet), UMC Groningen (drs. Navis and Hillebrands ) and RUNMC (drs. Hoenderop and Bindels).

You can watch the corresponding short video here.

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