A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas has developed a new approach for diagnosing kidney disease that uses gold nanoparticles,

According to the researchers, the gold nanoparticles, when used as a contrast agent in X-rays, reportedly offer a more accurate picture of kidney health and they are calling it far superior to standard blood testing.

Source: University of Texas at DallasSource: University of Texas at Dallas

The team is also examining how nanoparticles are filtered and removed by damaged kidneys through this approach.

The researchers explained that blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine are two key biomarkers for measuring kidney function, as they accumulate in the blood in the event that the kidneys aren’t functioning properly. Furthermore, the amounts of BUN and creatinine accumulation can help researchers determine the type of renal disease a patient is experiencing.

“Before administering renal-clearable drugs, doctors routinely check a patient’s kidney function by testing their blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) levels.”

While such blood tests can tend to be misleading, gold nanoparticles reportedly offer more information as they might collect in damaged kidney tissue upon entering the circulation — a buildup that can be visible on an X-ray, thus offering a more accurate view of the kidney damage.

Kidneys remove waste and excess substances from the blood by eliminating any foreign particles, such as nanoparticles. Yet, kidney disease disrupts this filtering process, thereby resulting in the potential accumulation of nanoparticles throughout the body.

As such, the team sought to determine how the nanoparticles’ movement and elimination through the kidney is impacted by kidney damage, looking specifically at whether BUN and creatinine levels could consistently predict how nanoparticles are filtered by the kidney.

To make this determination, the team tested the gold nanoparticles on mice with severe renal impairment caused by the cisplatin drug. In those cases, the nanoparticles passed through the kidneys of mice much slower, thus pointing to a potential issue wherein the nanoparticles were retained in the kidneys for an extended period of time. Theses mice, the researchers noted, exhibited BUN and Cr levels that were roughly 10 times higher than normal.

The team also determined that the degree of kidney damage in mice could be accurately ascertained by measuring the accumulation of gold nanoparticles via X-ray imaging.

Such a development, the team suggests, might lead to earlier detection and more effective treatment of kidney disease.

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