Biomarkers for kidney diseases: diagnostic and prognostic significance

The exponential increase in the number of patients on RRT and their high mortality require persistent investigation of the possibilities for early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its associated co-morbidities. In addition, as acute kidney injury (AKI) remains a condition characterized by high mortality, the investigations of methods that could have beneficial effects on AKI outcome continue. The proposed project deals with the diagnostic and predictive values of biomarkers for early detection of AKI, CKD and kidney allograft injuries, as well as complications of CKD. The research will be carried out within four subprojects with the following aims: (1) to evaluate diagnostic value of different markers for early detection of CKD determined by different methods and to evaluate the prevalence of CKD in populations at risk for CKD; (2) to identify markers for the earliest detection of the appearance of AKI and to evaluate whether any of the examined biomarkers could predict the course and outcome of AKI; (3) to investigate predictive value of biomarkers of inflammation, atherosclerosis, nutritional status and CKD-bone and mineral disorders for the development and progression of cardiovascular disease in patients with different stages of CKD, and predictive value of these biomarkers for progression and outcome of CKD; (4) to compare the diagnostic value of non-invasive biomarkers for kidney allograft injuries with pathohistological findings.