New Markers for Kidney Disease

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Abstract
There is ominous growth in chronic kidney disease among the US population, primarily related to type 2 diabetes ( 1). The current number of patients on dialysis (∼300 000) is growing steadily as the prevalence of end-stage kidney disease grows geometrically with a doubling time of 10 years. The epidemic growth in diabetes, the leading cause of chronic kidney disease, portends continuation of this trend ( 2). Most patients with end-stage kidney disease will end up on dialysis because the supply of kidneys for transplants is limited to ∼13 000 per year. A further warning sign from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey is that an estimated 8 million Americans have a ≥50% reduction of their glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ( 3). This group with impaired kidney function is at risk for progression to end-stage kidney disease as well as for development of cardiovascular disease.

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