Kidney Disease clinical trials at UCSD
5 in progress, 2 open to new patients

Good communication among patients, their families and loved ones, and their medical care providers is important when figuring out how to treat chronic diseases like kidney disease. A lot of people may not know all of their choices for how to treat kidney disease, and this can lead to rushed decisions or even a sense that there weren't any choices to make. In this study, the investigators are trying to find out if a decision-aid program on a computer can help people with kidney disease have more confidence in their decisions and have better agreement about their decisions with their families and loved ones. The DART study will be conducted at four sites in different areas of the country: Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; Chicago, Illinois; and San Diego, California. The study will enroll a total of 400 people with kidney disease at these four sites.

Elevated phosphate concentrations in the blood have been associated with multiple negative health outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease as well as in the general population. These negative outcomes include an increased risk of vascular complications like heart attack and stroke. While complications like heart attack and stroke reflect obstructive disease in large blood vessels, recent evidence suggests that elevated phosphate concentrations may first lead to disease in small blood vessels. This single site clinical trial will randomize 20 veterans with end stage renal disease on hemodialysis to either a phosphate binder or placebo and evaluated for changes in their microvascular function using laser-Doppler flowmtery and nail-fold capillaroscopy.