Let's start with a quiz. Which was the most research in the World on Google for 2023? Yes, of course. Artificial intelligence. A super hot topic. Things are going ready fast, and the text, the videos, the images, the books but what about the medicine? What about the nephrology? Is it coming? Is it already here? If you want to know more about it, ch…

Most of us have gone to medical universities to become doctors, and physicians, to be the people who diagnose and treat patients. At some point, however, we all realize that we’re also the ones that are supposed to do the medical research which does not come naturally to many of us. If you can relate to what has just been said, we have the right an…

Every nephrologist knows about serum creatinine, eGFR, albuminuria, proteinuria. We use them to assess disease activity. But do we really assess disease activity with them? eGFR can be low and albuminuria or proteinuria can be high because of chronic and potentially irreversible changes, like glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis, chan…

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

In the latest episode of A Pinch of Salt check out 'Proteinuria - the common suspect', the most obvious whodunit in the pathophysiological process of kidney disease. Things are changing and I start being confused with the labile landscape of proteinuria. A huge number of mechanisms are presented and a large number of molecules are circulating or wi…

Is it itching you to know more about CKD-associated pruritus? Do not worry! ERA is there for you! Can you imagine that the number of patients with CKD-associated pruritus in your Unit is more important than your estimations? Do you also have a bunch of patients that you do not know what to do with their itch? In order to know this and many more on …

I don’t know how it is with you, but lupus has always been the disease that I hated the most. However, IgA nephropathy must be the one that I’m most frustrated about. Primarily, because I feel like there’s nothing I can do about it like I’m some kind of fraud just waiting for the patient to figure it all out and see straight through my incompetence…

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

How many times per day during your dialysis rounds do you find the personnel a bit stressed near a patient suffering from an episode of intradialytic hypotension? And they are actually looking at you for the magic solution! A lot of things are simultaneously passing from your mind but sometimes you are not absolutely sure if you are doing the right…

Dialysis saves lives. But only if you can do it and do it well. Enter dialysis access. There is no dialysis without dialysis access. Whose job is it to take care of this vital, crucial part of dialysis? Is it OK to leave this to physicians for whom dialysis is not foremost in their minds? Or should it be the other way around? Should nephrologists b…

A Pinch of Salt today set sail very far away! We went to the other side of the Atlantic ocean, transversed a few thousand km or miles of land and finally got to Katherine Tuttle, from Washington USA, an eminent specialist on translational medicine who will « unconfuse » us on the « new drugs in nephrology » a series of innovative treatments or indi…

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

One of the most cheeky subjects in Nephrology is the diagnostic and therapeutic interventions on the nutritional status of CKD patients. It is cheeky because when it is not good it may kill the patient and also because it is one of the typical subjects that we « think » we know » but when we scratch a little bit we realise there are huge undiscover…

Life expectancy is rising in most of the world and with it we have a rising number of elderly individuals in our society. We are used to the type of medicine that is best suited for younger patients – identify the disease, give the best and most effective treatment and cure the patient. However, in elderly individuals the goals might be completely …

Do you want to know the name of the magic treatment? A treatment that improves the endurance and the force of the patients ? A treatment that makes them feel better and less tired? A treatment that improves their autonomy, their capacities for the daily tasks and their quality of life? A treatment that improves the blood pressure control, the lipid…

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

Kidney stones are a most unpleasant disease. It’s also a dangerous disease, a disease that may cause CKD, a disease that can be linked to a higher cardiovascular risk, and even a potentially deadly disease with concomitant urinary tract infection. Should we, as nephrologists, be more involved in the treatment of these patients? How should we assess…

Let's share a secret! After a very long period in the desert of stagnating therapeutic options in nephrology, we are living lately one of the most exciting periods of its history. A large number of new treatments and drugs are already in practice or planned to be introduced to our therapeutic algorithms in the years to come. The volume of informati…

There’s a new kid on the block and he can bang up cancer cells very effectively, but, he doesn’t like to discriminate and won’t think a bit about roughing up the kidney as well. This kid has a fancy name – immune checkpoint inhibitor. Oncologists are raving about it, but nephrologists are freaking out about it. How do we solve this mess? Can cancer…

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

Have you ever asked yourself – Is contrast-induced nephropathy an actual thing or are we just chasing ghosts? And if we are chasing ghosts, is this something that is without consequence or are we actually hurting our patients by doing so? If you have asked yourself any of these questions then you are in luck because we will be asking these and othe…

Have you ever asked yourself – Is it really lonely at the top? What is it like being a President of the ERA? Are the chores too tedious, or do the successes balance it all out? If you’ve wondered about this yourself, then you’re in luck because we’ll be asking these questions, Prof. Christoph Wanner, the current ERA President. If you want to learn …

PD is an attractive option for many patients and an attractive career for many nephrologists. Unfortunately, both might find it difficult to reach it. As a young nephrologist, you may ask yourself, how can I join a PD team on a regular basis? Where can I learn how to start PD in our patience? What are the differences in doing PD in elderly or young…

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association

By European Renal Association