- Chronic kidney disease affects many adults.
- About 36 million adults have the condition.
- Many adults do not know they have CKD.
- CKD can lead to dialysis or kidney transplant.
- Kidneys lose small blood vessels and get inflamed.
- Fibrosis means scar tissue replaces normal kidney tissue.
- Alejandro Chade leads the research team.
- Silencing one gene reduces fibrosis in models.
- The team plans to study genes in other tissues.
- The research appears in Kidney360.
Difficult words
- chronic — continuing for a long time
- dialysis — a medical treatment to clean the blood
- transplant — operation to move a healthy organ to someone
- fibrosis — when scar tissue replaces normal tissue
- inflamed — swollen and often red from injury or infection
- gene — a small part of DNA that controls traitsgenes
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you know anyone with kidney disease?
- Have you heard of dialysis?
- Would you like to learn about genes?
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