Kidney, patient and new millennium nephrology.
The way nephrology develops in the new millennium is bound to be affected by changes in the nephrologist's clinical environment, as well as by the progress made in basic research which will need to find a clinical application. The nephrologist can expect to be more and more involved in renal substitution therapy, not just providing the treatment, but also managing the cost of the service. In the field of nephropathology, the highest expectations surround molecular biology and its application to both acquired and hereditary renal disease; the goal is to find an outlet for gene therapy in clinical practice. Artificial substitution therapy will focus chiefly on the project of 'intelligent dialysis', whereby biological and diagnostic components are combined according the specific needs of the individual patient. The ideal scenario for renal transplantation in the coming millennium would be one where donor supply matches the demand (xenotransplant?), where immunomodulation is perfected, and where diagnoses are based on precise biomolecular events observed in real time.
Bonomini
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Institute of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, St. Orsola University Hospital, Bologna, Italy. vbonomini@orsola-malpighi.med.unibo.it
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D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D009398:Nephrology / Q000193:education / Q000639:trends*; D010361:Patients; D010820:Physicians