Kidney Disease & Health Archive

Research we're watching

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Can a high-tech water bottle help prevent painful kidney stones? The National Institutes of Health is hoping to find out. As many as one in every 11 people in the United States today has experienced a painful kidney stone. Kidney stones, a condition also referred to as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, are hard deposits that form inside the kidneys. They can be as small as a grain of sand or the size of a marble or larger. Symptoms of a stone include excruciating pain, interrupted urine flow, or bleeding inside the urinary tract. In short, kidney stones are definitely something you want to avoid. One way to keep stones from developing is to drink lots of water. The problem is, people who have had a stone often don't drink enough water to prevent new ones from forming, even when they're told how important it is to stay hydrated.

This trial, which will enroll 1,642 people, is trying to change that by using a "smart" water bottle that not only encourages people to drink a target amount of water each day, but also tracks their consumption using an app. People in the test group who reach their daily fluid intake targets will get financial incentives. Health coaches will provide added support to help participants achieve their goals. The findings could shed new light on how to get people to change their behavior to prevent this common and painful condition. For more information on the trial or to see if you qualify, visit www.health.harvard.edu/push.

Ask the doctors

Q. My bad cholesterol has been rising, and my doctor suggested that I start taking a statin. I've read that red yeast rice has many of the cholesterol-lowering benefits of a statin, and I would rather go the natural route. However, I recently heard on a newscast that red yeast rice can have adverse effects on the kidneys. Is it still safe for me to take this supplement?

A. It's true that red yeast rice, which contains monacolin K, a chemical that's identical to the active ingredient in the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin (Mevacor), may reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower your total cholesterol. However, an independent analysis of a dozen 600-milligram (mg) capsules of red yeast rice products conducted a few years ago found that the actual monacolin K content varied widely — from 0.1 mg to 10.9 mg. (The lowest dose of lovastatin is 20 mg.) In addition, one-third of the products were contaminated with a potentially toxic compound called citrinin, which can damage the kidneys. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has blocked the sale of red yeast rice supplements that contain enough of the active ingredient to make them as effective as lovastatin because they haven't undergone the drug approval process. Unlike FDA-approved drugs, supplements can be sold without proof of effectiveness and purity.

Fatty plaque in the arteries that feed the kidneys poses a danger to the heart and brain.

Controlling blood pressure and blood sugar will help both your heart and your kidneys.

On the surface, it's difficult to see how coronary artery disease and kidney damage might be related. But on the cellular level, the two conditions often go hand in hand. A closer look reveals the key. Underlying both conditions are two powerful risk factors: high blood pressure and diabetes, each of which damages the heart and kidneys independently.

If your weather forecaster warns about a heat wave this summer, take it seriously. A study by Harvard researchers found that people with certain conditions were at an increased risk of winding up in the hospital during periods of high heat. Their work was published Dec. 23, 2014, in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers analyzed hospitalization rates for specific diseases among 23 million Medicare beneficiaries between 1999 and 2010. What sent older adults to the hospital most often during a heat wave? Heatstroke, fluid and electrolyte disorders, kidney failure, urinary tract infections, and sepsis (a dangerous blood infection). For some diseases, the risk of hospitalization was elevated for up to five days after a heat wave day, suggesting that preventing and treating heat-related illnesses is crucial both during and after a heat wave.

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued new recommendations to prevent kidney stones from recurring. The guidelines, published Nov. 4, 2014, in Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that people who have had a kidney stone increase their fluid intake so that they pass at least 2 liters of urine per day. If that doesn't prevent kidney stone recurrence, the ACP recommends adding medication. ACP doctors also say that dietary changes may help prevent kidney stones, such as maintaining normal calcium levels and reducing dietary sodium, animal proteins, and oxalate (a substance in chocolate, beets, nuts, spinach, and rhubarb). A kidney stone occurs when tiny crystals in urine stick together to form a stone. About 13% of men and 7% of women in the U.S. population will develop a kidney stone during their lifetime. Studies show that the recurrence rate of kidney stones within five years of an initial stone ranges from 35% to 50% without treatment. 

Drinking water and changing your diet are just some ways to avoid kidney stones. See the full list here.

Protect your heart by protecting your kidneys. Here's how.

Taking care of your heart means taking care of your kidneys. That's because kidney disease is a serious threat to heart health.

Men prone to kidney stones should drink plenty of water, get adequate calcium, reduce sodium, limit animal protein, and avoid foods that could make kidney stones more likely to form. Dietary restrictions depend on the stones the person tends to form.

Poor eating habits, smoking, and obesity add to the risk of developing kidney disease. The National Kidney Foundation is urging people lower kidney disease risk by losing weight and quitting smoking.