#kidneydisease Archives - All Things Kidney ~ Official

COVID19 Vaccines vs Evusheld ® vs Mask: What works the best in Immunocompromised?

December 17, 2021May 11, 2022Leave a comment

COVID19 prevention has been a tough nut to crack especially in the Immunocompromised. On one hand, the COVID19 vaccines fell short in patients with moderate to severe weakening of immunity. This included kidney patients with advanced pre-dialysis state, those on dialysis and post-transplant. On the other, in certain kidney patient cohorts who did develop traceable immune response to the vaccines ended up with a flaring of pre-existing underlying autoimmune kidney diseases like IgA Nephropathy.

Then we have Evusheld ® – drug maker AstraZeneca’s new long acting monoclonal antibody combo shot. This antibody drug (generic name: AZD7442) was granted an Emergency Use Authorization by the USFDA on December 8th, 2021. With its “ready-made immune protection”, this long acting antibody (LAAB) drug shows promise in preventing symptomatic COVID19 in immunocompromised patients (just like vaccines do in immunocompetent). However, only time will tell how well it performs on-field. Read more here.

But then, amidst this steady inflow of pharmacological strategies to ward-off COVID19, if something has managed to survive it’s the utility of the humble face mask. Of-course, other COVID safe practices like following strict hygiene protocols and avoiding crowds go hand-in-hand.

So what works the best?

Continue reading “COVID19 Vaccines vs Evusheld ® vs Mask: What works the best in Immunocompromised?” →

Poor response to COVID Vaccine in Kidney Patients: Decode the Science-Understand your Options

November 10, 2021December 30, 2021Leave a comment

COVID19 vaccine inoculations are the best possible protection for most health profiles that science offers against this pandemic menace. However, as we know, COVID vaccines in their initially recommended dose schedules proved less effective in immunocompromised individuals. This was irrespective of whether poor immunity resulted from a medical condition or due to immuno-suppressive medication. Patients with advanced Chronic Kidney Disease & Kidney Transplant recipients are a prominent subgroup in this population subset of the “Vaccine Helpless”.

◾ So how did poor immunity in kidney patients impact vaccine effectiveness?

◾ Will repeated immune challenge with extra doses as part of primary vaccine series truly help all kidney patients? How tenable is it?

◾ Any better alternatives to garner adequate immune protection for our cohort without going overboard with the “immune challenge” and/or inviting side-effects of major concern?

Read on to decode the relevant science and understand your options for adequate immune protection against COVID-19.

(DISCLAIMER: The article is purely a medically feasible insight on current evidence from peer-reviewed scientific literature on COVID-19 vaccine efficiency, its shortcomings & potential relevant alternative pharmacological solutions w.r.t. patients with chronic kidney disease. The intention is to place the facts as they are with due respect to Science. It is not intended to promote any vaccine hesitancy or support anti-vaxxer views. It does not represent any political positioning either.)

Continue reading “Poor response to COVID Vaccine in Kidney Patients: Decode the Science-Understand your Options” →

Kidney Transplant: Before the surgery – II

December 13, 2020May 21, 2021Leave a comment

Transplant

Hello kidney warriors & knowledge seekers! Today, we continue from our previous article on all steps that kidney patients & kidney donors need to follow before getting admitted to the hospital for a Transplant surgery.

The article today explains the basic workflow involved for every kidney patient scheduled for a transplant & their donor starting from hospital admission until they finally get to go under the knife.

Continue reading “Kidney Transplant: Before the surgery – II” →

Kidney Transplant: Before the surgery – I

November 25, 2020May 21, 2021Leave a comment

Kidney transplant

Every patient with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or in other words, Kidney failure needs to go on treatments that would “fill the gaps” in the errant functioning of the unwell kidney or completely replace it with healthy functioning. Dialysis is a way to fill the gaps while a Kidney Transplant is a complete replacement.

In our previous article, we explained the bare basics of a Kidney Transplant.

This article covers an outline of what an average pre-transplant preparation for the patient and the kidney donor may entail.

Continue reading “Kidney Transplant: Before the surgery – I” →

Kidney Transplant – Basics

November 4, 2020May 21, 2021Leave a comment

What is kidney transplant?
Who needs a kidney transplant?
Who can be a kidney donor?
Kidney transplant vs Dialysis for life
What is pre-emptive kidney transplant?
Who makes up your kidney transplant care team?

1. What is Kidney Transplant?

Kidneys are essential for sustaining life. Individuals who end up with very little or almost no kidney function, either due to an incurable disease, birth defect or extensive injury, require a solution to regain/assist with their kidney function. Kidney Transplant is one of the methods to do so.

This involves a surgical procedure of “transferring” a healthy, matched kidney from a willing donor to “implant” it in the belly of the patient requiring the organ. Hence the name, Transplant.

Here, the donor kidney is securely removed with Continue reading “Kidney Transplant – Basics” →

Creatine Supplements and your Kidney

October 11, 2020May 21, 2021Leave a comment

Creatine Supplements Kidney

Creatine Supplements are a common performance-enhancing agent. It is also rather popular with fitness enthusiasts, athletes and professional bodybuilders these days. But a growing number of Creatine consumers are also concerned about if these supplements could damage kidneys.

Now, anything kidney tingles our neurons immediately! So we decided to address these concerns with today’s article.

Continue reading “Creatine Supplements and your Kidney” →

High Blood Pressure in CKD

June 17, 2020May 21, 2021Leave a comment

High blood pressure is almost always present at the time of diagnosing Chronic Kidney Disease. And as time passes during your CKD journey, controlling your blood pressure becomes an essential part of your treatment plan to delay kidney failure.

But why does your blood pressure rise in chronic kidney disease in the first place?!

That, and the basics that you must understand about high blood pressure in CKD is what today’s storytelling is about.

Continue reading “High Blood Pressure in CKD” →

Blood Pressure Essentials

June 17, 2020May 21, 2021Leave a comment

High blood pressure is almost always present at the time of diagnosing Chronic Kidney Disease. And as time passes during your CKD journey, controlling your BP becomes an essential part of your treatment plan to delay kidney failure.

But why do you get high BP in chronic kidney disease in the first place?!

For that let us first take you through all the essential facts that you must grasp about the whole concept of Blood Pressure.

Knowing this will help you master your understanding of what goes wrong with your BP regulation systems and to what extent, when CKD hits.

So, let’s begin then, shall we?

Continue reading “Blood Pressure Essentials” →

Ensuring Hygiene in a Kidney-friendly Kitchen

February 12, 2020May 21, 2021Leave a comment

Hygiene is an important consideration for everything that enters your body, whether you eat it, drink it, breathe it or inject it. This is more so if a major, essential organ of the body like your kidneys are unwell. That’s because, in normal health, kidneys efficiently eliminate ALL excess metabolic wastes and impurities in blood via urine. But Chronic Kidney Disease progressively diminishes this blood-cleansing ability of kidneys as well as blunts our body’s immune defences with time.

💡 So what are the best practices to keep your kidney kitchen hygienic?

💡 Which are the must-have equipment/utility items that you should consider stocking-up your kitchen with, to turn it into a “Kidney-Fortress”?

These are what this article has discussed today. Continue reading “Ensuring Hygiene in a Kidney-friendly Kitchen” →

Kidney-Friendly Kitchen: The must-have tools!

February 5, 2020March 22, 2021Leave a comment

Kidney friendly

What business does someone trained as a physician-scientist have, talking about “Tools necessary for a Kidney-friendly kitchen”, you may ask?

Well, it’s my own decade-long Experience navigating life as a Kidney Warrior (currently post-kidney transplant) and the frustrating lack of organized information on this matter in the medical literature or public domain, that has motivated me to help fellow members in the Kidney Community in this regard.

As soon as you are diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease, dietary modifications take the centre-stage Continue reading “Kidney-Friendly Kitchen: The must-have tools!” →

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