The latest advances in kidney diseases and related disorders

Abstract

The 39th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nephrology was held in San Diego, California, U.S.A., November 16-19, 2006. This meeting offered the latest findings in basic and clinical nephrology science and was attended by around 13,000 nephrologists from around the world. Recent data on anemia management in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and the results with new drugs for the treatment of renal anemia that are under development, such as the continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (CERA) or Hematide were presented. The more recent results of the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS), a large multinational, prospective observational study in hemodialysis patients were also discussed. The additional antiproteinuric effects of high doses of angiotensin AT(1) receptor antagonists in patients with diabetic nephropathy were demonstrated. Recent studies that evaluated the efficacy and safety of new immunosuppressive strategies with low doses or without calcineurin inhibitors in renal transplant recipients were also reviewed during the congress.