Treated
Hitting a Nerve
Kinesiology professor exploring the link between sympathetic nerve activity and kidney disease
High sympathetic nerve activity can lead to high blood pressure, which harms kidneys
Kidney disease affects more than 26 million American adults, with about 47,000 dying from the condition in 2013. Now, a kinesiology professor is using a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to try to develop a treatment.
Paul Fadel, director of clinical translation science for the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, was awarded the grant for his research into the link between kidney disease and high sympathetic nerve activity. Contrary to popular belief, most people with the disease actually die of cardiovascular issues, since increased blood pressure is injurious to the kidneys. High sympathetic nerve activity can contribute to high blood pressure and related health problems.
Dr. Fadel is searching for a way to decrease this activity in patients with kidney disease. The goal, he says, is to understand the mechanisms that cause the overactive sympathetic nervous system.
"We know that patients with chronic kidney disease have high sympathetic nerve activity, but we don't know why," Fadel says. "Our hope is to figure out a treatment and come up with a therapy that will lower patients' sympathetic nerve activity, improve their outcomes, and prevent them from moving on to dialysis."