News

Doctors recently reported the case of a 17-year-old boy with Alport syndrome who developed an even more rare disease — ANCA-associated vasculitis — and was successfully treated. This is the first-ever documented case of a patient with both diseases. The case report, “ANCA vasculitis in a patient with Alport…

Reata Pharmaceuticals has named a new marketing chief while continuing to recruit participants for a Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating bardoxolone methyl for those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stemming from Alport syndrome. David Chapman becomes Reata’s vice president of marketing after more than 25 years of biopharmaceutical sales, marketing and…

The National Kidney Foundation has started a Heart Your Kidneys campaign to make people aware of how vital kidneys are to sustaining life. The campaign, which started March 9, World Kidney Day, is aimed at millennials and other young people in particular. Key goals are encouraging people to educate themselves about…

Alport syndrome patients are joining nearly 150 advocates, representing from six patient organizations, on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers during the 4th Annual Kidney Patient Summit. The two-day event, organized by the National Kidney Foundation and concluding today, has as its slogan “My Kidneys, My Life” to emphasize how vital are these…

Boosting a kidney enzyme pathway reduced inflammation and kidney damage in a mouse model of Alport syndrome, suggesting that stimulating the pathway may be a treatment option, according to a study. The pathway counterbalances another enzyme cascade that ACE inhibitors block. The inhibitors are often used to treat Alport. The…

Screening has begun in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) caused by Alport syndrome, who are looking to take part in a Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of bardoxolone methyl, a therapy being developed by Reata Pharmaceuticals. The two-part study, called CARDINAL (NCT03019185) will assess the safety, tolerability, and…

While many Alport syndrome patients have heard about the possibility of preventing kidney failure with drugs called ACE inhibitors, the medications are approved only for adults in final disease stages. But one man has been working for years to come up with the evidence to prove the treatment is effectively…

Treatment with the drug erlotinib decreased kidney inflammation in mice with Alport syndrome, although it showed no impact in delaying disease progression. Erlotinib, sold by Genentech under the brand name Tarceva, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004 to treat certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Women with Alport syndrome and mild chronic kidney disease (CDK) may have normal pregnancies, according to a study, but more research is necessary to confirm this finding. The study, “Pregnancy Outcomes In Patients With Alport Syndrome,” was published in the journal Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Most Alport…

New insights into Alport syndrome have shown that the inherited kidney disease previously thought to be untreatable does respond to therapy, according to a review of Alport developments, prospects and obstacles to treatment. The review writer, Dr. Clifford Kashtan of the University of Minnesota Medical School, also contended that the medical profession…