Development

Prenatal exposure to alcohol reduces nephron number and raises blood pressure in progeny Gray, S. P. et al. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 21, 1891–1902 (2010)

A study in rats reports that prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated with decreased nephron number and increased blood pressure. Gray and colleagues administered ethanol or saline to pregnant Sprague–Dawley rats on embryonic days 13.5 and 14.5. At 1 month of age, nephron number was 15% lower in alcohol-exposed male progeny and 10% lower in alcohol-exposed female progeny than in controls. Mean arterial pressure was 10% higher in male and female progeny exposed to alcohol than in controls.

Risk factors

Higher serum bicarbonate levels within the normal range are associated with better survival and renal outcomes in African Americans Raphael, K. L. et al. Kidney Int. doi:10.1038/ki.2010.388

Serum bicarbonate level is an independent predictor of chronic kidney disease progression, according to a recent study. Raphael et al. used data from the AASK trial to show that increased serum bicarbonate levels within the normal range were associated with improved survival rates and better renal outcomes among African American patients with chronic kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease

Outcomes associated with phosphorus binders in men with non-dialysis-dependent CKD Kovesdy, C. P. et al. Am. J. Kidney Dis. 56, 842–851 (2010)

Phosphorus binder use is associated with improved outcomes in men with moderate or advanced non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a recent trial. The historical cohort study involving 1,188 men with moderate or advanced CKD not on dialysis showed that treatment with phosphorus binders was associated with a 39% reduction in the risk of death following adjustment for case mix and laboratory parameters.

Chronic kidney disease

Quality of care and mortality are worse in chronic kidney disease patients living in remote areas Rucker, D. et al. Kidney Int. doi:10.1038/ki.2010.376

Patients with chronic kidney disease living in remote areas are less likely to receive specialist care, undergo recommended laboratory tests and receive appropriate medications than those living closer to a nephrologist, say researchers in Canada. Rucker et al. also found that patients living further than 50 km from a nephrologist are more likely to die or be hospitalized than patients living closer to a nephrology unit.