Chronic renal failure (CRF) associated with elevated dietary cadmium (Cd) among farming communities in the irrigated agricultural area under the River Mahaweli diversion scheme has reached a significantly higher level of 9,000 patients.

The increase in the number of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients from the north central region of Sri Lanka has become a environmental health issue of national concern. Unlike in other countries where long-standing diabetes and hypertension are the leading causes of renal diseases, the majority of CKD patients from this part of Sri Lanka do not show any identifiable cause.

The endemic of chronic renal failure (CRF) emerged in 2002 in the farming provinces of Sri Lanka. An estimate of dietary cadmium intake was between 15 and 28 microg/kg body weight per week. The mean urinary cadmium in patients diagnosed with stage 5 kidney failure was 7.6 microg/g creatinine and 11.6 microg/g for asymptomatic persons.

African Americans have higher rates of kidney disease than European Americans.

health Side-effects stay Chemicals called contrast agents used during cardiac angiography can seriously damage kidneys which, in turn, increases chances of heart attacks. Side-effects were earlier thought to be temporary. A team tracked 294 patients exposed to contrast agents for a year. 31 per cent of the patients were found to suffer from long-term negative

Bangladesh has two crore kidney patients and nearly 40,000 of them die annually due to renal failure, according to the Kidney Foundation.

Kidney Foundation secretary Prof Md Muhibur Rahman told BSS that the number of chronic kidney patients increased by 50 per cent over the last 10 years and currently 18 per cent of the country's total population is suffering from the disease.

evolution Wolves from dogs Human beings can enrich biodiversity without doing much. Take raising dogs as pets, for example. A study says dogs have helped in the evolution of black colour in wolves. This bodes well for wolves inhabiting fast depleting snow-covered northern environments like the Arctic tundra. While hunting, the dark colour helps them merge with surroundings. Using

Currently 50,000 children are suffering from renal diseases in the country, while only 400 children could be given kidney transplantation annually due to lack of paediatric nephrologists in Pakistan.

Kidney diseases among the people under 15 are on the rise and they now constitute half of the total renal patients in the country, renal specialists said on Wednesday.
The nephrologists said an estimated 49 lakh adolescents and children suffer from different kidney aliments and 50 thousand of them die each year due to renal failure. Ninety per cent of these patients die without treatment.

Exposure to heavy metals may cause kidney damage. The population living near the Avonmouth zinc smelter has been exposed to cadmium and other heavy metals for many decades. The study aimed to assess Cd body burden and early signs of kidney damage in the Avonmouth population.

Pages