Genetics of kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease, or CKD, is when your kidneys start to slow down. In time, they won’t work at all. Your kidneys filter out small particles and extra fluids from your blood. You excrete them in your urine. In CKD, they build in up your body. In the early stages of CKD, you may only have a few signs. These include nausea, throwing up, or not wanting to eat. Feeling tired and trouble sleeping are also signs. As it gets worse, your feet or ankles may swell. You may have chest pain or trouble breathing. These are from fluid building up in or around your feet, heart or lungs. You may not notice the signs until your kidneys barely work. Diabetes and high blood pressure can cause CKD. Inflammation or infections in and around the kidneys can also cause it. Other things can put us at risk. Heart disease, smoking, and being overweight are a few. Genetics can also play a part. We can treat CKD and slow down the kidney damage. But we cannot stop it yet. One day, your kidneys may fail. If this happens, you will need a machine to filter your blood. You have to do this three times a week. Without this, or a new kidney, you will die. Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center want to find a new way to treat CKD. They will use BioVU to study genes linked to CKD. Most genes make proteins. But we first have to turn on the gene. Then it will make the protein. If we do not turn it on, it will not make the protein. We only turn on the genes we need in each cell. If we cannot turn on a gene when we need to, it can lead to problems. Or cause a disease. The scientists will use BioVU to look for patients who have CKD. Then they will look for changes in the genes linked to CKD. They will also check to see if these genes are turned on. Last, they will check if the gene changes link to other conditions or diseases. The goal is to learn more about the role gene changes play in CKD. And if the gene changes link to other diseases or conditions. Their results will help us find out who might be at risk for CKD. They may also help us find new ways to treat CKD.