Year: 2009
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Worldwide, increasing numbers of patients are affected by end stage renal failure (ESRF). This mainly results from the ageing population and the global epidemic of type 2 diabetes. ESRF is generally caused by a loss of nephrons, which constitute the part of the kidney that filters waste products from the blood (figure 1). For several decades it has been appreciated that once a critical number of nephrons is lost, kidney failure will progress relentlessly towards ESRF, which means that the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) will become less than 60 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 body surface area. This severely reduced kidney function results in the accumulation of organic waste products, a state that is generally known as uremia. This uremic state is associated with a functionally impaired immune system, resulting in many clinical side effects as an increased incidence of infections and malignancies.
Author: Thijs Hendrikx
Language: English
Subfield: Transplantation
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1631168256