Want to live longer? Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

BBC: Over the 12 weeks of the study, the volunteers, who were hospital employees at the university, were asked to use the stairs exclusively at work instead of taking the lift. On average, the number of flights of stairs - classed as climbing up or down one storey - rose from five per day to 23. After the three months of the trial, tests showed they had better lung capacity, blood pressure and cholesterol measurements. Their weight, body fat and waist measurements also dropped, and their capacity for doing aerobic exercise improved. Taken together, this equates to a 15% reduction in the chances of dying young, say the investigators.

Should femoral catheterization for acute RRT be avoided to prevent infection?

Should femoral catheterization for acute RRT be avoided to prevent infection?

Nature Clinical Practice Nephrology 4, 466 (2008). doi:10.1038/ncpneph0885

Guidelines on Management of Primary Aldosteronism Issued

The Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline reviews case detection, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with primary aldosteronism.
Medscape Medical News

A single measurement of urinary NGAL can identify acute kidney injury

A single measurement of urinary NGAL can identify acute kidney injury

Nature Clinical Practice Nephrology 4, 466 (2008). doi:10.1038/ncpneph0899

Chronic Kidney Disease Prevalence Estimates among Racial/Ethnic Groups: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Background and objectives: Muscle mass is not a major determinant of serum cystatin C levels, and its use to estimate GFR may lead to more congruent estimates of chronic kidney disease (CKD) across gender and racial/ethnic groups.

Design, setting, participants, & measurements: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis is a population-based study of 6814 men and women who are aged 45 to 85 yr and do not have clinical cardiovascular disease. Estimated CKD prevalence, defined as an estimated GFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m² body surface area, was compared using three different GFR prediction equations: The abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation and two equations based on serum cystatin C.

Results: Among women, CKD prevalence estimates across the four racial/ethnic groups using the MDRD- or the cystatin C–based GFR equations, which include gender and race coefficients, varied by approximately two-fold (P < 0.0001) but were more congruent with use of a serum cystatin C–based equation without the use of coefficients (P = 0.3). CKD prevalence estimates did not differ significantly across racial/ethnic groups among men with the MDRD (P = 0.07) or cystatin C formula without coefficients (P = 0.05) but did differ significantly with the cystatin C formula, which incorporates gender and race coefficients (P = 0.006).

Conclusions: CKD prevalence estimates vary across racial/ethnic groups, and the degree of variability depends on the method used to estimate GFR, especially among women. Further research is needed to determine the accuracy and precision of GFR prediction equations in racially diverse populations.