Effects of a reduction in renal function on cardiovascular structure and function: A 5 year study of kidney donors (Dr Anna Price)
Supervised by Professor Jonathan Townend, the Clinical Research Training Fellow on this project is working out why people with slightly reduced kidney function - a very common finding on blood tests - are more likely to develop heart and circulatory disease. It is not known whether this is due to the reduced kidney function itself or to conditions associated with kidney problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Professor Townend has been studying kidney donors and using various techniques to measure the impact of reduced kidney function on cardiovascular health. He has discovered that otherwise healthy kidney donors have a reduced kidney function after the procedure, and this is subsequently linked to blood vessel stiffness, increased heart weight, heart scarring, inflammation and markers of heart injury one year after the donation. In this project, the team will re-study these people five years after kidney donation to find out if these effects worsen over time, are stable or improve, and if there is evidence of premature ageing in the genetic material – the DNA – of kidney donors that could explain these changes in their heart and blood vessels. This research could reveal new ways to prevent or treat blood vessel damage in many people with reduced kidney function.
Project details
| Grant amount | £236,783 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | Clinical Research Training Fellowship |
| Start Date | 01 August 2017 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | FS/16/73/32314 |
| Status | In Progress |
