Author Archives: Magdalena Kegel

Evidence suggesting that bardoxolone methyl can delay kidney failure has surfaced in a re-analysis of data from a clinical trial in diabetics that was terminated over safety concerns, Reata Pharmaceuticals reports. The original analysis of the Phase 3 BEACON clinical trial results indicated that the treatment had no effect on end-stage…

Researchers report that mutations in kidney genes not involved in collagen production may worsen the severity of Alport syndrome. The study may provide an explanation as to why Alport patients can have widely varying disease severity. A specific mutation in the LAMB2 gene, which is linked to the genetic disease…

Women with X-linked Alport syndrome may develop severe disease progression. But the type of mutation a patient carries does not predict the disease’s severity, and physicians should pay careful attention while monitoring and treating women with X-linked Alport syndrome, according to a study from the Kobe University Graduate School of…

Cataract laser surgery may be a way to treat the bulging eye lens that Alport disease can cause, a case study suggests. The report was only the second account of doctors performing the surgery on an Alport patient, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute said. The other case…

Billy Hudson, PhD, a researcher focusing on the Alport syndrome-associated collagen 4, has been awarded the 2018 Distinguished Investigator Prize by the International Society for Matrix Biology. The prize will be presented at the American Society for Matrix Biology Biennial Meeting in Las Vegas October 2018. Hudson led…

Regulus Therapeutics and Sanofi-Genzyme are among companies working on Alport syndrome therapies that can block RNA molecules’ actions. RG-012 is a man-made version of naturally occurring oligonucleotides, or RNA molecules that help regulate gene activity. The synthetic version, called antisense oligonucleotides, binds to RNA, preventing it from functioning normally. But what are…

A type of stem cell prevents the progression of Alport disease in mice by releasing tiny bubbles that mop up excessive amounts of a factor that promotes blood vessel growth signaling, Los Angeles researchers report. The findings provide new insight into Alport disease mechanisms, the team at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles said.

Retinal thickness may be used to distinguish men with X-linked Alport syndrome from those with a similar but much more benign kidney disease known as thin basement membrane nephropathy, a recent study reports, although differences were not significant enough in women to work as…

Australian researchers have identified a protein that is a possible biomarker of the progression of Alport syndrome and similar kidney diseases. They detected higher than normal levels of the protein mindin in the urine of mice with an Alport-like disease. Those levels reflect increased protein leakage from damaged kidneys, they…

The extent of loss of the COL4A5 protein in the kidneys of Alport syndrome patients is linked to a more severe disease progression, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota argue. This feature, however, is not common in patients diagnosed with Alport in adulthood, according to the study,…