A new study suggests that patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis - a type of kidney disease - may have a more advanced form of the condition at diagnosis if they possess certain genetic variants, with this association being strongest among African Americans.
The researchers, including Dr. Jeffery Kopp of the National Institutes of Health, publish their findings in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is scarring in kidney tissue that affects more than 5,000 people in the US every year. Symptoms of the condition include foamy urine (caused by excess protein), weight gain, swelling (caused by excess body fluids) and poor appetite.
According to the researchers, FSGS is known to be more common among African Americans; compared with European Americans, African Americans are four times more likely to develop the condition.
Previous research has indicated that African Americans are at higher risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) due to variants in apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) - a gene that makes a protein that forms a part of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), referred to as "good" cholesterol. Around 5 million African Americans possess such variants.
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| The researchers found that 72% of African American participants with FSGS - a form of kidney disease - had variants in the APOL1 gene. |
Source: medicalnewstoday
