Kidney disease breakthrough: protein deficiency in old age can increase risk

kidney disease has become a common disease among Americans. According to the statistics, every one in three Americans has a risk of suffering from kidney disease. Humans are born with two kidneys, though the body needs only one. The kidney is a bean-shaped organ which performs an extremely important function of removing waste products from the blood. But in case of kidney failure, it stops performing this function, resulting in accumulation of those waste products and leading to shortness of breath, fatigue, poor sleep and other symptoms of kidney disease.

Recently, a study conducted by some researchers highlighted the role of a protein in declining kidney function.

Soluble Klotho Protein Deficiency – possible link with kidney failure

In a breakthrough research study by Dr. David Drew and his team from Tufts Medical Center (Boston), it was found that there is an association between the soluble protein named klotho, and Kidney disease. The Klotho gene is responsible for anti-aging and was named after Greek Goddess Klotho who is believed to control the birth and death of people. Soluble Klotho is one of the two types of Klotho protein, and it was found in the study that lower levels of Soluble Klotho was observed in patients with kidney disease.

Details of scientific research study data on Soluble Protein Deficiency

According to the research findings published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, a study was conducted on 2,496 participants of old-age adults with an average age of 75 years. In the elderly participants, they found a 15-20% reduced risk of kidney disease for every two fold higher Kloth level. It was thus concluded that a higher level of Soluble Klotho protein is linked independently with lower risk of kidney failure. According to the research team, there is a possibility that chronic kidney failure may be the result of Soluble Klotho deficiency, and the authors agreed that future studies would provide more information. Thus, Klotho may become an essential therapeutic target for clinical trials in the future.