The findings indicate that close medical follow-up is important for maintaining the health of patients who have experienced kidney damage.

Kidney disease is a serious and growing problem in the United States and around the world. A number of factors - such as diabetes, hypertension, and aging - increase individuals' risk of developing this condition. Researchers suspect that AKI may also lead to kidney disease, but this potential link has not been thoroughly studied.

To determine the risk of serious CKD among elderly patients with AKI, Allan J. Collins, MD, of the United States Renal Data System (USRD) in Minneapolis, MN, and his colleagues studied a sampling of Medicare beneficiaries and their medical claims from 2000. They analyzed data from nearly 234,000 patients aged 67 years or older who were hospitalized, finding that the incidence of AKI was 3.1%.

Among patients with AKI, CKD developed within two years in 72.1% of patients. These findings suggest that AKI may initiate CKD. In addition, AKI patients were 6.74 times more likely to develop ESRD than those without injury.

The researchers also found that CKD is frequently complicated by AKI, and patients with both conditions are particularly susceptible to the development of ESRD. Therefore, physicians should be especially vigilant in monitoring these patients over time to ensure that they receive proper and prompt care if their kidney function continues to decline. "Physicians should take advantage of relatively simple lab tests to check kidney function," said Dr. Collins. Interventions such as lifestyle changes and medications can help slow the progression of kidney disease.

AKI has generally been considered self-limiting, with a good prognosis if recovery is noted in the hospital. However, this study indicates that this type of kidney damage can have lingering effects. Proper care of patients with AKI may help reduce the incidence of ESRD.

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"MBX-8025 has the potential to become a next generation treatment for dyslipidemia that simultaneously improves multiple metabolic parameters with a resulting reduction in cardiovascular risk," stated David B. Karpf, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Metabolex. "In this Phase 2 study, MBX-8025 clearly demonstrated robust improvement of many cardiovascular risk factors without any apparent pattern of side effects associated with the drug."

MBX-8025 is a potent, selective PPAR-delta agonist that helps to regulate fatty acid degradation, lipid storage/transport and insulin sensitivity. MBX-8025 is being developed to treat a range of dyslipidemias, and clinical research suggests it has a broad effect on a number of lipid and metabolic parameters, including triglycerides, LDL and HDL cholesterol, insulin sensitivity and inflammation.

Dyslipidemia is characterized by high levels of triglycerides and/or LDL (bad cholesterol) or low levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Dyslipidemia is a key independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease -- the largest therapeutic segment of the world pharmaceutical market. Although some drugs have marked effects on some of the parameters associated with dyslipidemia, existing treatments do not optimally treat all elements of this common condition.

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