| Popis: |
The kidney shows many pathophysiological changes during aging, such as glomerulosclerosis, tubular atrophy, interstitial fibrosis and arterial intimal fibrosis. Recent work has begun to reveal the genes and pathways that are responsible for some of these age-related changes in the kidney. Understanding the genetic and molecular basis for renal aging is of clinical interest because donor age is a major criterion for success in renal transplantation. Kidneys from cadaveric donors over age 60 are considered less desirable and show shorter median survival times. There is a surplus of patients in need of kidney transplantations resulting in many premature deaths, and yet many potential donor kidneys are discarded on the basis of donor age alone. Insight into the mechanism of renal aging could lead to better criteria to identify a subset of kidneys from elderly donors that are suitable for transplantation. Further, it may soon be possible to slow down or rejuvenate renal aging. Better understanding of the renal aging process could help alleviate the critical shortage of kidneys for transplants. |
