Children's Mercy announces NIH funding $5 million extension for CKiD, largest North American study of pediatric chronic kidney disease

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Mercy Hospital (CMH) in Kansas City, MO, the Midwest Clinical Coordinating Center for the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) study, today announced an extension of funding for nearly $5 million over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), with co-funding from the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute and the Eunice Kennedy Schriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, at the National Institutes of Health, bringing the total amount allocated to CMH for the CKiD study since study initiation to around $14.2 million. With more than 880 children now enrolled in the study from 54 participating sites, CKiD is the largest study of its kind ever conducted in North America. Along with continued investigation into risk factors associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression, the additional five years of funding for CKiD permits further study of the impact of progressive disease on children's growth, cognitive development and cardiovascular disease status.

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"I don't know that any of us envisioned the success that we have experienced when we started the study 10 years ago," said Bradley A. Warady, MD, Children's Mercy's Division Director of Nephrology and the study's co-principal investigator. "Thankfully, due to the hard work of many investigators and coordinators, CKiD has been rewarded with additional funding and time, two important factors when evaluating the progression of a chronic illness.  If we had only studied patients for five years, there would have been little capacity to discern key exposures that lead to CKD progression or associated complications. With the funding extension, we've been given the opportunity to better determine what differentiates those patients with progressive disease from those with more stable kidney function."

As the NIH continues to increase its investment in children's health, it was drawn to CKiD's exploration of different diagnostic methods.  "NIDDK based the decision to extend CKiD on rigorous scientific peer review of the study's plans for the next five years," said Marva Moxey-Mims, MD, director of pediatric nephrology at the NIDDK.  "To complement the regular performance of echocardiograms, many patients with moderate to severe kidney disease will undergo cardiac MRI studies in the next phase of CKiD to better evaluate the impact of progressive CKD on cardiac function."  Additional tests include pulse wave velocity (measuring arterial stiffness), as well as evaluating grip strength and results from a six-minute walk to assess physical function. 

Also, CKiD has led to the development of more accurate means to measure and estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in children, which enhances the capacity to monitor patients and helps to guide therapy.  The study will aim to further improve the estimating equations during the current funding cycle. 

"Before CKiD was initiated 10 years ago, the quantity of research data that was being generated from children with CKD was extremely limited," said Dr. Warady. "Ten years later, we have enrolled nearly 900 children in CKiD, and when you include information from patients in a European cohort with whom we are collaborating on clinical and genetic studies, we're generating data on nearly 2,000 children with CKD. This substantially increases the likelihood of finding important answers to long-standing questions."

Dr. Warady is very proud of the fact that the success of CKiD is reflective of the great working relationship that exists among individuals within the pediatric nephrology community.  "CKiD is not just a Kansas City project," said Dr. Warady, "it is truly a global project that is influencing the way all of us care for children with kidney disorders. As for the next five years, the best is yet to come."

CKiD is supported under NIDDK grant numbers U01DK66143, U01DK66174, U01DK82194 and U01DK66116. The contents of this news release are the sole responsibility of Children's Mercy Hospital and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

About Children's Mercy Hospital
Children's Mercy Hospital, located in Kansas City, MO, is one of the nation's top pediatric medical centers. The 354-bed hospital provides care for children from birth through the age of 21, and has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Children's Hospitals" and recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet designation for excellence in nursing services. Its faculty of 600 pediatricians and researchers across more than 40 subspecialties are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research, and educating the next generation of pediatric subspecialists. For more information about Children's Mercy and its research, visit childrensmercy.org or download our mobile phone app CMH4YOU for all phone types. For breaking news and videos, follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

SOURCE Children's Mercy