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 Dear Colleagues,I am sorry to report the death on June 16th of one of the Society’s most distinguished members, Allen C. Alfrey, MD, who was the recipient of the Belding H. Scribner Award in 2001. Dr. Alfrey made many important contributions to nephrology, and his work led to the eradication of dialysis dementia and bone disease due to aluminum toxicity. His colleague, Tomas Berl, MD, notes that Dr. Alfrey was "an original thinker who made milestone observations and whose discoveries profoundly impacted the way in which we treat patients with kidney disease." Additional information about Dr. Alfrey’s life can be found here. ASN extends its sympathy to Dr. Alfrey’s wife, Patricia, their son Matthew, daughter Shawn, grandchildren, and extended family. Sincerely,  Peter S. Aronson, MD, FASN President, American Society of Nephrology |
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| For the first time, ASN is soliciting abstracts for late-breaking clinical trials. All accepted abstracts will be presented as oral presentations in a special symposium during Renal Week. Accepted abstracts will also be published online and in the November issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). ASN will only consider abstracts that describe the results of late-breaking clinical trials. Abstract submission site opened: Monday, August 4, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. EDT. Please click here to submit an abstract. Abstract submission deadline: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. EDT ASN will notify abstract submitters of their selection status during the week of September 29, 2008. There is a fee of $55 for each submitted late-breaking clinical trial abstract. |
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| Additional Travel
Grants Available for ASN Protein Folding Disorders Conference Due to the identification of additional funds, ASN has re-opened the application process for ASN travel grants to attend the Advances in Research Conference (ARC): Human Disorders of Protein Processing: Mechanisms, Consequences, and Therapeutic Implications, to be held during ASN Renal Week 2008, in Philadelphia, PA. The ARC will take place Tuesday, November 4, 2008, and Wednesday, November 5, 2008. All travel grant recipients must register for and attend only the ARC program; recipients may not attend other one- or two-day programs occurring concurrently. Early registration for ARC ends Wednesday, September 17, 2008. ARC travel grant applications are available on the ASN website. Completed applications, along with the candidate’s curriculum vitae (CV), must be submitted electronically by Friday, August 15, 2008, at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The following information must be included in the submitted CV:
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| Congressional
Bickering Delays NIH Increases, VA Research Receives Boost Senators from both sides of the aisle have recently expressed support for increased funding for medical research. However, congressional politics have yet again stalled movement on legislation that would provide additional funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee, respectively, introduced legislation that would provide NIH with an additional $5.2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2008. Concurrently, Senate appropriators introduced a supplemental bill that would provide additional funding for domestic programs for the current fiscal year, including $500 million for NIH. While it is promising that the Senate has recognized the need for additional NIH support, the supplemental legislation will likely overshadow Senators Harkin and Specter’s proposed legislation, stalling any movement on it. Meanwhile, citing a hectic schedule, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Robert C. Byrd, (D-WV) has delayed consideration of the supplemental measure. The Senate hopes to resume consideration of the supplemental legislation in September. A debate over the inclusion of certain energy provisions may further disrupt consideration, however. Referencing his reasoning for including funds for NIH in the supplemental, Senator Byrd stated, “Even with the $150 million included in the first supplemental bill, NIH funding failed to keep up with biomedical inflation in FY08 for the fifth year in a row, a trend that has discouraged many young scientists from this field and puts the nation at risk of losing a generation of talented investigators.” Even as the Senate attempts to add some funding for NIH, it is widely suspected that Congress will not pass the FY 2009 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, funding NIH for the next fiscal year (which begins October 1, 2008), until after the new administration takes office. However, congressional advocates for medical research have provided increases to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical and Prosthetic Research Program in FY 2009. The House passed its VA appropriations bill Wednesday, July 30, 2008, providing $500 million for the research program in FY 2009, a $20 million increase over last year’s appropriation. The Senate Appropriations Committee provided $526.8 million for the program in its version of the bill. Upon reviewing the House-passed legislation, the White House announced it would veto the bill unless Congress finds offsets in other appropriations measures. However, due to the current political environment and ongoing war, veterans-issues have often garnered White House support even after veto-threats have been made. ASN Policy Staff will continue to monitor progress on the proposed legislation and advocate on behalf of increased support for medical research. For information on how to contact your members of Congress and advocate for NIH and VA research, please contact policy@asn-online.org. American Board of Internal Medicine Announces New Members of Nephrology Board The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) last month announced the members of its Subspecialty Board on Nephrology. These representatives of the nephrology community are expected to "apply their individual and collective knowledge toward the development of the policies, standards, and requirements for Certification and Maintenance of Certification in their subspecialty, with special focus on developing the cognitive exam that physicians must take to certify or maintain their certification." Initial appointments are for two years and are renewable for up to a total of six years. The members of the nephrology board are:
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| The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and
the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Nephrología e
Hipertensíon (SLANH) are again partnering to bring 10
nephrologists from Central and South America to the United States for a
“mini-fellowship.” Under the guidance of founding co-chairs Tomas
Berl, MD and William E. Mitch, MD, the highly successful program allows
participants to spend three weeks observing a nephrology program at a
US institution, and can be tailored to fit their specific interests,
such as research or pediatrics. Following the
"mini-fellowship," the participants are given complementary
registration to Renal Week. In 2008, the presumptive participants will travel from Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, and Peru to Boston University, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Columbia University, Emory University, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, Stanford University, Temple University, the University of Alabama-Birmingham, the University of Florida-Gainesville, and the University of Michigan. ASN is extremely grateful to the training program directors at these institutions for giving so freely of their time and energy, and to SLANH for its partnership. The ASN-SLANH Program exposes Central and South American nephrologists to new technologies and methods that can be used for the care of patients in their home countries. It also helps the participants establish contacts in the United States that can be very valuable as they advance in their careers. ASN would encourage all training programs to consider participating in this program in the future. The Society will be asking for volunteers in early 2009. For more information on the ASN-SLANH “mini-fellowship,” please contact ASN Senior Policy Coordinator Susan Owens at sowens@asn-online.org or 202-416-0668. |
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JASN Vitamin
D Linked to Reduced Mortality Rate in Chronic Kidney DiseaseFor patients with moderate to severe CKD, treatment with activated vitamin D may reduce the risk of death by approximately one-fourth. Full Study Combined Kidney-Pancreas
Transplant Improves Survival in Type 1 DiabetesFor patients with type 1 diabetes and ESRD, simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplantation increases the chances of long-term survival compared to kidney transplantation alone. Full Study Fatty
Liver Linked to Increased Risk of Diabetic Kidney DiseaseFor patients with type 2 diabetes, a condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may be an important risk factor for diabetes-related CKD. Full Study Intravenous Iron May Help Treat
Anemia in Patients with Kidney DiseaseA new intravenous (IV) iron compound called ferumoxytol shows promising results in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in patients with CKD. Full Study NephSAP  NephSAP Seeking ReviewersNephSAP is seeking volunteers to review questions for accuracy and clinical relevance (two to three issues of NephSAP per year). |
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| Kidney Disease
Awareness and Education Week is August 11-15, 2008 The American Nephrology Nurses Association’s (ANNA’s) award-winning campaign has helped improve care for renal patients through key legislation. ANNA members use this week to educate lawmakers about renal disease and issues affecting the renal community and patient care. More information about the campaign is available on ANNA's Web site. ASN Website Translation Service Launched The ASN website now offers a new service that allows users to translate webpages into the language of their choice. This tool is located in the footer of each web page – just put your cursor over the ”Translate” link to use it. Certain restrictions apply; see the Language Translation Disclaimer for more details.
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