KEY MARKERS FOR TREATMENT OF POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE (PKD)
COULD FAST TRACK “DESIGNER” DRUG THERAPY

Study findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine

(Kansas City) May 18, 2006 — Scientists have long known that patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) begin to develop cysts on their kidneys in childhood. Those cysts grow larger in adults. What scientists didn’t know, was how fast this growth occurred, and whether it was a continuous process or something that stops and starts.

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, examined the progression of PKD with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI.) The groundbreaking study finds that the kidneys do enlarge continuously due to the cyst growth. The research concluded that patients with the largest cyst volumes were also the first to experience kidney failure.

Treatment of PKD with “designer” drugs has been hampered, because there was no way to monitor how fast the disease was progressing and whether medications were working, before the kidneys suffered irreversible damage. This study could help fast track new therapies for PKD.

PKD is the world’s most common life-threatening genetic disease, affecting 1 in 500 people regardless of sex, age, race or ethnic origin. For the 600,000 Americans suffering from PKD, dialysis and transplantation are the only options. Currently, there is no treatment and no cure.

The PKD Foundation helped secure funding for the study. Dr. Jared Grantham, co-founder of the PKD Foundation, is lead author of the article, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The not-for-profit PKD Foundation is the only organization, worldwide, dedicated to finding a treatment and a cure for this devastating disease. For more information about PKD and the PKD Foundation, visit www.pkdcure.org or call 1-800-PKD-CURE.

To arrange interviews with Dr. Grantham or PKD patients who participated in the study, contact PKD Foundation Media Manager, Jennifer Robinson.