Chronic Kidney Disease Clinical Trials

Using a highly innovative methodology, the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST), the purpose of this study is to pilot test, an optimization trial approach to develop and refine the decision partnering skills of persons with stage 4 chronic kidney disease and their caregivers. Using a 2x2x2 full factorial design, 64 dyads (patients and one identified caregiver) will be randomized to receive one or more lay coach-delivered decision partnering training components, based on Pearlin's Stress-Health Model of Family Caregiving and Rini's Social Support Effectiveness theory. The components include: 1) caregiver coaching on effective decision support (1 vs. 3 sessions); 2) caregiver decision support communication training (1 session vs. none); and 3) patient social support effectiveness psychoeducation (yes vs. no). Read Less

The goals of this project are to investigate the mechanisms and potential therapies related to exercise capacity in persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Read Less

The purpose of this pilot interventional study is to collect preliminary data on the application of a transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) device in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This data will enhance understanding of the short-term safety, tolerability and effects of this novel therapeutic approach in the setting of CKD. The primary aims are to investigate the feasibility of the protocol and generate preliminary signals of efficacy and tolerability for two different doses of vagal nerve stimulation. The pilot estimates will be used to design a larger scale study that may lead to potentially targeted interventions to reduce cardiovascular (CV) mortality in the CKD population. Read Less

Constipation is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and has been associated with their adverse kidney and cardiovascular outcomes; however, little is known about the effects of constipation treatment on clinical outcomes nor on outcome-related biochemical and microbiological parameters in patients with CKD. The investigators aim to test the feasibility of delivering an intervention with constipation treatment and determine its effects on changes in clinical, biochemical, and microbiological parameters in patients with CKD and constipation. Read Less

The purpose of the study is to create a Nephrology Tissue Biobank enabling the study of kidney disease from the perspectives of epidemiology, genetics and molecular biology. Read Less

This study is being done to test blood, urine and tissue samples to see if this can help decide if CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease), AR (Acute Rejection) and HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) can be identified in its early stages. CKD damage to the kidneys, AR and HCV all lower the body's ability to function properly. Early detection of these conditions could assist with successful treatment and possibly lead to less repeat organ transplants. Read Less

This will be a prospective, single institution, parallel-group, single-blinded, randomized-controlled, two-arm, effectiveness study comparing autologous arteriovenous fistula versus hemodialysis access grafts in the elderly. The target sample size will include enrollment of 270 patients over a period of 5 years. The creation of an autologous arteriovenous fistula or placement of a hemodialysis access graft constitutes the two arms of the study. Read Less

Nitric oxide (NO) is an essential molecule in the body that is decreased in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), leading to reductions in vascular, movement ("motor") and cognitive functions. This study will determine if daily oral supplementation (3 months) with a supplement that increases NO in the body, i.e., nitrate-rich beetroot juice, improves vascular, motor and cognitive function in patients with CKD; this study will also provide insight into the biological reasons (mechanisms) by which supplementation with nitrate-rich beetroot juice improves vascular function in these patients. Overall, this research will provide scientific evidence supporting the use of nitrate-rich beetroot juice for preserving physiological function and preventing co-morbid clinical conditions and disability in CKD. Read Less

The main purpose of this study is to examine the outcome of a combined bone marrow and kidney transplant from a partially matched related (haploidentical or "haplo") donor. This is a pilot study, you are being asked to participate because you have a blood disorder and kidney disease. The aim of the combined transplant is to treat both your underlying blood disorder and kidney disease. We expect to have about 10 people participate in this study. Additionally, because the same person who is donating the kidney will also be donating the bone marrow, there may be a smaller chance of kidney rejection and less need for long-term use of anti-rejection drugs. Traditionally, very strong cancer treatment drugs (chemotherapy) and radiation are used to prepare a subject's body for bone marrow transplant. This is associated with a high risk for serious complications, even in subjects without kidney disease. This therapy can be toxic to the liver, lungs, mucous membranes, and intestines. Additionally, it is believed that standard therapy may be associated with a higher risk of a complication called graft versus host disease (GVHD) where the new donor cells attack the recipient's normal body. Recently, less intense chemotherapy and radiation regimens have been employed (these are called reduced intensity regimens) which cause less injury and GVHD to patients, and thus, have allowed older and less healthy patients to undergo bone marrow transplant. In this study, a reduced intensity regimen of chemotherapy and radiation will be used with the intent of producing fewer toxicities than standard therapy. Typical therapy following a standard kidney transplant includes multiple lifelong medications that aim to prevent the recipient's body from attacking or rejecting the donated kidney. These are called immunosuppressant drugs and they work by "quieting" the recipient's immune system to allow the donated kidney to function properly. One goal in our study is to decrease the duration you will need to be on immunosuppressant drugs following your kidney transplant as the bone marrow transplant will provide you with the donor's immune system which should not attack the donor kidney. Read Less

This study will determine the efficacy of diuretics in patients with chronic kidney disease. Read Less

Kidney disease is a global health problem, affecting more than 10% of the world's population and more than half of adults over 70 years of age in the United States. Persons with kidney disease are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, heart failure, physical function decline, and mortality. Kidney scarring is a dominant factor in the development of kidney disease. Our group has evaluated several tests to determine the severity of scarring without requiring kidney biopsies, using MRI imaging scans and evaluating markers of scarring that we can measure in the urine. In this study we will use these measures to evaluate pirfenidone as a promising potential new treatment for patients with kidney disease. Read Less