Kidney research — 2026-08-10
The day's sweep is dominated by diabetes and heart drugs being tested for the kidneys. A large review found GLP-1 drugs appear safe for people with kidney failure, and a pooled analysis of three big trials showed semaglutide helps protect the kidneys. Several new trials also opened, including tests of empagliflozin and orforglipron in people — and children — with kidney disease.
A Phase III Study to Investigate the Efficacy and Safety of Elecoglipron Compared With Placebo in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Renal Function on Background Dapagliflozin
A new trial is starting to test a drug called elecoglipron in adults who have type 2 diabetes and reduced kidney function. Everyone taking part is already on dapagliflozin, a...
Assessment of the Impact of Repeated Ischemic Preconditioning Episodes on Hemodynamic and Metabolic Parameters in Patients at Various Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease
This study tests 'ischemic preconditioning' — briefly cutting off and then restoring blood flow to a limb — in people at different stages of kidney disease. The idea is that short,...
A Study to Find Out How EMPAgliflozin is Tolerated and if it Helps Children and Adolescents With Chronic KIDNEY Disease (EMPA-KIDNEY® Kids)
A trial is opening to see if empagliflozin, a diabetes and kidney drug, helps children and teens aged 2 to 17 with chronic kidney disease. Children will be randomly given the drug...
EASi-KIDNEY™ (The Studies of Heart & Kidney Protection With BI 690517 in Combination With Empagliflozin)
A large trial called EASi-KIDNEY is testing whether adding a new drug, BI 690517, to empagliflozin better protects the heart and kidneys in adults with chronic kidney disease....
A Study of Orforglipron (LY3502970) on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Adults With Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and/or Chronic Kidney Disease (ATTAIN-Outcomes)
This 5-year trial tests orforglipron, a GLP-1 drug taken as a pill, to see if it prevents heart attacks, strokes, and other problems in adults who have heart disease and/or chronic...
Real-World Study of Enarodustat for Anemia in Non-Dialysis CKD Patients
This real-world study will follow 90 adults who have kidney disease and anemia (too few red blood cells) and are not on dialysis, all taking a pill called enarodustat. Researchers...
Niaoduqing Granules in Older Adults With Impaired Kidney Function
This study will follow about 300 adults over age 60 with moderate-to-severe kidney disease who take a Chinese herbal medicine called Niaoduqing Granules. It looks at whether their...
Outcomes of Physiologic Insulin Resensitization (PIR) in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
This study looks at 'physiologic insulin resensitization,' a specific way of giving insulin, in people who have both kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. It is just beginning and...
A Study to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of AP306 at Fixed Doses in Dialysis Participants With Hyperphosphatemia
This trial tests a drug called AP306 to lower high phosphate levels in the blood of adults on dialysis. High phosphate is a common and harmful problem in kidney failure. The study...
Intensification of Blood Pressure Lowering Therapeutics Based on Diuretics Versus Usual Management for Uncontrolled Hypertension IN Patients With Moderate to Severe Chronic Kidney Disease
This trial tests a stronger, water-pill-based (diuretic) approach to lowering blood pressure versus usual care in people with moderate-to-severe kidney disease and hard-to-control...
Retinal Changes in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Study Correlated with Biochemical Parameters.
This study used a special eye scan (called OCT) to look at the retina, the light-sensing layer at the back of the eye, in people with kidney disease. Certain retinal changes lined...
Urinary Dickkopf-3 reflects renal and vascular damage in diabetic kidney disease: A cross-sectional study.
This study measured a protein called Dickkopf-3 (DKK3) in the urine of people with diabetic kidney disease. Higher levels went along with more kidney and blood vessel damage. It...
The Therapeutic Application of Epigenetic Regulation by Natural Herbal Compounds in Kidney Diseases.
This review discusses how natural herbal compounds might treat kidney disease by changing how genes are switched on and off (a process called epigenetics). It summarizes lab...
Gallstones and acute cholecystitis in CKD and dialysis: an underrecognized biliary burden in nephrology.
This article points out that gallstones and gallbladder infections are common but under-noticed in people with kidney disease and on dialysis. It is a review meant to raise...
SGLT2 Inhibitor Use in Type 2 Diabetes in England: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study of Uptake of NICE Guidance.
This study looked at how widely SGLT2 inhibitors — diabetes drugs that also protect the kidneys — are actually being prescribed in England, compared with official guidance. It...
Safety and efficacy of glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonism-based therapies in end-stage renal disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
This review combined the results of many studies on GLP-1 drugs, such as semaglutide, in people with kidney failure, including those on dialysis. Overall, it found these drugs...
Weight-loss-independent actions of GLP-1 medicines.
This review explains ways GLP-1 medicines may help the body beyond weight loss, such as calming inflammation. It summarizes research rather than reporting a new study, so there are...
Individualizing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapy for CKD associated with diabetes.
This review gives doctors guidance on tailoring both drug and non-drug treatments for people whose kidney disease is caused by diabetes. It is an overview, not a new study, so...
Acute glucagon infusion induces natriuresis and diuresis through a direct tubular mechanism involving overlapping receptor pathways.
This laboratory study found that giving the hormone glucagon made the kidneys pass more salt and water by acting directly on kidney tubules. This is early mechanism research, not a...
Effect of semaglutide on kidney outcomes in the SELECT, FLOW, and SOUL trials: a prespecified pooled analysis.
Researchers pooled three large trials (SELECT, FLOW, and SOUL) to look at how semaglutide affects the kidneys. The combined analysis showed the drug helped protect kidney function....
Treatment outcomes and safety of telitacicept in reducing proteinuria and hematuria for refractory childhood IgA vasculitis nephritis
This report describes children with a hard-to-treat kidney inflammation (IgA vasculitis nephritis) who were given a drug called telitacicept. It appeared to lower protein and blood...
Cardiometabolic risk, evaluation and control in lupus nephritis
This review discusses heart and metabolic risks in people with lupus-related kidney disease and how to manage them. It summarizes existing knowledge rather than reporting a new...
Balancing risk: anemia or albuminuria when using ACEi/ARB?
This is a short discussion of a common trade-off: blood-pressure drugs called ACE inhibitors or ARBs protect the kidneys but can worsen anemia (too few red blood cells). It is a...
The outcome of IgAN: a time of reflection in the perspective of new opportunities
This is a reflective article on the outlook for people with IgA nephropathy, a common kidney disease, in light of new treatment options. It is an opinion and review piece, not a...
Osteoactivin/GPNMB as a candidate biomarker of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes: associations with angiogenic and kidney injury biomarkers
This study looked at whether a protein called GPNMB (also called osteoactivin) could be a marker of kidney damage in type 2 diabetes. Higher levels lined up with other injury...
Dapagliflozin preserves kidney function and reduces albuminuria in children with chronic kidney disease
In children with chronic kidney disease, dapagliflozin, an SGLT2-inhibitor drug, helped protect kidney function and cut protein loss in the urine. This is an encouraging result in...
Glomerular-Targeted Delivery of Low-Dose Prednisolone Attenuates Established Lupus Nephritis in MRL/lpr Mice.
In mice, delivering a low dose of a steroid (prednisolone) aimed straight at the kidney's filters eased lupus-related kidney damage. This is an animal study, not tested in people...
Fibroblast growth factor 23 in lupus nephritis: A promising biomarker linking renal activity and bone fragility
This article discusses a blood marker called FGF23 as a possible link between active lupus kidney disease and weaker bones. It reads as a review and perspective, not a new study.
Prevention of new-onset chronic kidney disease with renin–angiotensin system blockers in type 2 diabetes with preserved kidney function
This study looked at whether blood-pressure drugs called RAS blockers (ACE inhibitors or ARBs) help prevent new kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes who still have normal...
Calcineurin inhibitor versus mycophenolate mofetil along with rituximab in non-genetic calcineurin inhibitor resistant steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome: retrospective observation from western India
This look-back study from western India compared two drug combinations (a calcineurin inhibitor versus mycophenolate, both with rituximab) in children with hard-to-treat nephrotic...
NKF Live: Biogen PREVAIL Trial
This is a National Kidney Foundation video about the PREVAIL trial, which is testing a drug called felzartamab for IgA nephropathy, a common kidney disease. It explains how kidney...
Self-Management Data and Disease Progression in Chronic Kidney Disease
This study watches whether people with kidney disease who track their own blood pressure, blood sugar, medicines, and diet in a phone app do better over time. It looks for links...
The role of gut microbiome disruption in the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated kidney disease.
This is a review of how an unhealthy balance of gut bacteria may play a part in kidney disease tied to obesity and metabolic problems. It pulls together existing research rather...
Association Between Dietary Magnesium Intake and All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: Insights from NHANES 1999-2018.
Using a large U.S. health survey (NHANES, 1999–2018), researchers found that people with kidney disease who ate more magnesium were less likely to die during follow-up. This is an...
Regulatory Frameworks and Technical Bottlenecks for Clinical Translation of the Bioartificial Kidney.
This review looks at the rules and technical hurdles standing between the 'bioartificial kidney' — a lab-built device meant to do a kidney's job — and real use in patients. It is a...
Clinical application of deep learning-based measurement of glomerular morphometry in IgAN
This study used artificial intelligence to measure tiny kidney-filter structures on biopsy images in IgA nephropathy. It reports how well the computer tool works. It is a method...
Proteomic Identification of Pig Xenoantigens for Clinical Xenotransplantation.
Researchers used lab methods to find the pig proteins that a human immune system would attack, aiming to make pig kidneys safer to transplant into people. This is early laboratory...
Outcomes of living related kidney donors of recipients with familial mediterranean fever-associated Amyloid A Amyloidosis
This study followed living kidney donors whose transplant recipients had a rare inflammatory disease with amyloid buildup. It reports how the donors fared afterward. It is...
Study of the Quality of Life in School Aged-children With Posterior Urethral Valves
This study will measure quality of life in school-aged children born with posterior urethral valves, a blockage in the urinary tract. Many of these children later develop kidney...
A novel TRPC6 variant (c.131C>T, p.(Pro44Leu)) associated with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: a case report
This report describes one patient with a newly found gene change (in a gene called TRPC6) linked to a kidney-scarring disease called FSGS. A single case cannot prove the gene...
Case Report: Nephrotic syndrome with minimal change disease during anti-tuberculosis treatment and tiopronin use
This is a single-patient report of a kidney condition called minimal change disease, which causes heavy protein loss in the urine, that appeared during tuberculosis treatment and...
Implementation of KDIGO CKD Screening and Its Prognostic Implications in Community-Dwelling Adults Aged 75 Years or Older: A Population-Based Cohort Study
This large community study looked at using KDIGO kidney-screening rules in adults aged 75 and older, and at what the results predicted about their health. It is observational, so...
Biopsy findings in a selected pediatric population in Algeria : a retrospective study of 82 cases
This study reviewed kidney biopsy results from 82 children in Algeria to see which kidney diseases were most common. It is a look-back at records, so it describes patterns, not...
Factors associated with clinically significant nephritis in systemic lupus erythematosus patients who present with glomerular hematuria: a cross-sectional study
This study looked at which factors go along with serious kidney inflammation in lupus patients who have blood in their urine. It looks at one point in time, so it shows links, not...
IgA nephropathy in a patient with 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase deficiency caused by the CYP17A1 p. Y329fs mutation: a case report and review
This is a single-patient report of a kidney disease (IgA nephropathy) alongside a rare hormone-gene disorder. One case cannot prove the two conditions are connected.
Asymptomatic kidney changes discovered during occupational health screening: age-dependent trends from a large cohort
This large study found silent kidney changes turning up during routine workplace health checks, and that they became more common with age. It is observational, so it shows...
Longitudinal patterns of kidney function in children with HIV: insights from group-based trajectory modeling
This study tracked kidney function over time in children living with HIV and grouped them by how their kidneys changed. It is observational and describes patterns, not causes.
Diagnostic Utility of Direct Immunofluorescence in Renal Biopsies with Diabetic Nephropathy
This study looked at how useful a lab test (direct immunofluorescence) is on kidney biopsies from people with diabetic kidney disease. It is a diagnostic study, not a treatment.
Remission of Nephrotic Proteinuria after Liver Transplantation in a Case of Abernethy Malformation Type Ib and Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis
This single-patient report describes heavy urine protein loss that went away after a liver transplant in a person with a rare vein malformation and kidney inflammation. One case...
Clinicopathological features and outcomes of glomerular microangiopathy: a retrospective cohort study
This look-back study describes the features and outcomes of a group of patients with glomerular microangiopathy, a disease of the kidney's tiny blood vessels. It is observational...
Idiopathic nodular glomerulopathy
This is an overview of idiopathic nodular glomerulopathy, a kidney disease with no clear cause. It reads as a descriptive review rather than a new study.
Integrated Analysis of Zinc, Copper, and Magnesium Homeostasis in Pediatric Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome: A Prospective Cohort Study with Serial Clinical Evaluation
This study tracked zinc, copper, and magnesium levels over time in children with a kidney disease that causes heavy urine protein loss (nephrotic syndrome). It describes what it...
Efficacy and Renal Safety of Bictegravir/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF) Among People Living With HIV With Early or Mild Renal Injury: A Real World Retrospective Study in China
This real-world study looked at whether a common HIV medicine combination is effective and safe for the kidneys in people with early or mild kidney injury. It is a look-back study,...
CKD screening: urinary albumin or uDKK3 or both?
This is a short commentary asking whether kidney screening should use urine albumin, a marker called uDKK3, or both. It is a discussion, not a new study.
A young male with kidney damage from genetic mitochondrial disease: case report and literature review
This single-patient report describes a young man whose kidneys were damaged by an inherited mitochondrial disease. One case adds to knowledge but cannot prove general patterns.