March 11, 2010 - As the U.S. population ages and the incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure rises, the number of end-stage renal (kidney) disease patients receiving dialysis is expected to increase dramatically in coming years. Kidney dialysis is a life-saving treatment, with one major problem: it requires repeated medical procedures to unclog blood vessels or it stops working. And once patients run out of dialysis access sites due to blockages, their only option is a transplant – with a long waiting list.

Chronic kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S.  But for the 500,000 people on dialysis or living with a transplanted kidney, and those people who may be at risk, a new treatment could extend the time kidney dialysis patients can be treated with dialysis before needing a kidney transplant.

In dialysis, veins that support the procedure cannot do so over the long term.  They collapse and need to be opened, typically with balloon angioplasty, similar to the procedure commonly done for the heart.  A new advancement in the form of a stent graft for these veins could become the new gold-standard in treatment and dialysis. 

Dr. Ziv Haskal, chief of vascular and interventional radiology division at University of Maryland Medical Center, was principal investigator for a study on the new therapy published in The New England Journal of Medicine.  Dr. Haskal will be available for interviews on March 10, 2010 to talk to your viewers about kidney disease, their risks, and the study offering hope to people on dialysis.

Ziv J. Haskal, MD FSIR FAHA FACR FCIRSE is tenured professor of radiology and surgery, vice chair of radiology, director of image guided therapy and interventional oncology, and chief of the vascular and interventional radiology division at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Md. Dr. Haskal serves on the editorial boards of multiple peer-reviewed journals, and has chaired numerous national committees for the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, the Society of Interventional Radiology, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association.