John Pickering • Aug 06, 2014 •
As we’ve been enjoying the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games my latest cheesecake appeared in print online. The topic once more is Kidney Attack biomarkers – those pesky little proteins in the urine that appear when your kidney is injured. This time I have been getting stuck into some math (sorry) to try and … Continue reading → … Read More
John Pickering • Aug 29, 2013 •
Have you ever been told the blood test is positive and the disease in question is shocking – Cancer, an STD (but you don’t sleep around!), MS? Have you every wondered why it is that some drugs get withdrawn years after, and millions of prescriptions after, they were first approved? Surely, you’ve read a headline … Continue reading → … Read More
John Pickering • Jul 06, 2013 •
CNN is reporting Nelson Mandela is on dialysis. http://t.co/HZTIlmGrtO. This means he is suffering from Acute Kidney Injury, the disease I study. Having to have dialysis is very serious. Unfortunately, survival rates are only about 50% by this stage, less in the very elderly. Dialysis is not a treatment, merely a support for the kidney to … Continue reading » … Read More
John Pickering • Jun 26, 2013 •
This week’s post is really about the coloured stuff & why too little of it is dangerous. Note, I say coloured stuff because it aint just yellow – check out this herald article if you don’t believe me (or just admire this beautiful photo). Story time A long time ago, when Greeks wore togas, and … Continue reading » … Read More
John Pickering • May 29, 2013 •
When they say your tests are positive for a disease just what do they mean? If it is a simple blood or urine test often they mean that the concentration measured is outside (above or below) some reference range. In my field of Kidney Attack (a.k.a. acute kidney injury: AKI) two tests of the same … Continue reading » … Read More
John Pickering • May 24, 2013 •
27% of patients with H7N9 Influenza A died. This is the finding of a report just released in the New England Journal of Medicine is a study of 111 of the 132 confirmed cases of H7N9 Influenza A*. Acute Kidney Injury or “Kidney Attack” was amongst the most common complications. Of the 111 patients we … Continue reading » … Read More
John Pickering • May 07, 2013 •
This week’s announcement by the HRC of Feasibility Study and Emerging Researcher grants have many great projects. Two in particular are worth crowing about (because they have some relationship to kidneys and they involve two excellent people). I have put summaries in their own words below, but first my comments. Dr Palmer (Department of Medicine, … Continue reading » … Read More
John Pickering • Apr 24, 2013 •
He didn’t die, quite. But later thought he may well of. Steve Gurney’s episode of Acute Kidney Injury (see Part II) didn’t finish him after he was discharged from his third hospital (one each in Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand) – 4 weeks after the event. While media outlets clamoured to hear the story of … Continue reading » … Read More
John Pickering • Apr 10, 2013 •
This guy crawls through bat dung for fun. He also runs incredibly long distances and then cycles or kayaks more. If you’ve not guessed already, our Face of Kidney Attack is multisport and adventure racer Sir Steve Gurney (He’s not really “Sir” but anyone who does what he does deserves some sort of honorific and … Continue reading » … Read More
John Pickering • Apr 03, 2013 •
It ain’t pretty, it’s Acute Kidney Injury. This case was probably brought on by leptospirosis. This is the face of a well known New Zealander. Do you recognise him? He’s kindly lent his name to my research on AKI. I will reveal that name in future posts as I tell his remarkable story. Tagged: Acute … Continue reading » … Read More