Transplant Patients Speak
TRANSPLANT PATIENTS SPEAK
Photo #1: portrait. Caption: Eivind Frost has had
his kidney transplant 26 years.
Photo #2: portrait. Caption: Karen Mayry has had
her kidney transplant 23 years.
Photo #3: portrait. Caption: Ken Carstens has had
his kidney transplant 24 years.
Photo #4: portrait. Caption: Betty Walker has had
her kidney transplant almost 22 years.
Photo #5 (located within article): portrait.
Consider Donating a Kidney
CONSIDER DONATING A KIDNEY
Who? Me? There might come a day when someone you
care about needs a transplanted kidney--and you may be the person with a spare. Organ
donation is not just for the dead--what about live donation? What does it mean for the
donor?
Let's start with what it isn't. It doesn't cost
you any money to give a loved one a kidney, or some of your bone marrow, or even part of
your pancreas. Any charging of the donor, by doctor, hospital, or third party, violates
Organ Donors Wanted
ORGAN DONORS WANTED
Federal legislation directs the Secretary of the
Treasury to place an organ donor card and pamphlet in every envelope containing an income
tax refund check. Up to 70 million Americans receive such checks, so this should really
help spread the message that organ donation saves lives.
Think about it. If something sudden were to
happen to you, your posthumous gift could bring life and independence to several others.
Ask the Doctor
ASK THE DOCTOR
by Wesley W. Wilson, MD
Artwork: Medical caduceus
NOTE: If you have any questions for "Ask the
Doctor," please send them to the VOICE editorial office. The only questions Dr.
Wilson will be able to answer are the ones used in this column.
Wesley W. Wilson, MD, has retired as an Internal
Medicine practitioner at the Western Montana Clinic in Missoula, Montana. Dr. Wilson was
diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1956, during his second year of medical school. He
Genetic to Diabetic Kidney Complications
INVESTIGATORS RESEARCH GENETIC
LINK TO DIABETIC KIDNEY COMPLICATIONS
Scientists at the Joslin Diabetes Center in
Boston are searching for genetic components that may make some people with type 1 diabetes
more susceptible to kidney complications. Dr. Andrzej Krolewski and his team of
investigators have over a decade of experience researching diabetic kidney disease
(nephropathy), and in this time have found strong evidence that genetics plays a role in
Kidney Failure: Prevention, Dialysis, or Transplantation
KIDNEY FAILURE: PREVENTION,
DIALYSIS, OR TRANSPLANTATION
by Ed Bryant
Photo: portrait. Caption: Ed Bryant
I have a special interest in renal failure, as I
have had a kidney transplant for over 16 years, and I feel great. I know folks who've had
transplants far longer than I have, and they're doing fine, too. I hope the following
answers some questions.
Prevention Comes First
"I'm sorry, but your kidneys are beginning
New Insulin Delivery System Tested
NEW INSULIN DELIVERY SYSTEM TESTED
Diabetics who need to take insulin (type 1s and
some type 2s) have had to use either the insulin syringe (the insulin pen is a type of
syringe) or the insulin pump, both invasive ways to project a measured dose of medication
under the skin.
Because insulin is digestible, an "insulin
pill" would not work. Inhaled insulin works (its effects are detectable in the
Dialysis at National Convention
DIALYSIS AT NATIONAL CONVENTION
by Ed Bryant
Artwork: NFB logo at end of article
During this year's annual convention of the
National Federation of the Blind in Atlanta, Georgia (Sunday, July 2, through Saturday,
July 8), dialysis will be available. Individuals requiring dialysis must have a transient
patient packet and physician's statement filled out prior to treatment. Conventioneers
must have their unit contact the desired location in the Atlanta area for instructions,
More About Teveten
MORE ABOUT TEVETEN
Researchers are always looking for new
medications to do a better job of controlling diabetes and coping with its complications.
Last issue, VOICE Vol. 14, No. 4, we reported about a European study, in which the
Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonist medication Teveten (eprosartan mesylate), proven
beneficial in reducing hypertension (high blood pressure), appeared, much like its cousins
the ACE Inhibitors, to reduce the fluid pressure in the kidneys, and thus the rate and
Ace Inhibitors: What and Why
ACE INHIBITORS: WHAT AND WHY
by Peter J. Nebergall, PhD
A significant percentage of diabetics will
develop measurable nephropathy, kidney disease. Statistics suggest up to half of these
people may progress to ESRD, end stage renal disease. So are you doomed?
No. First remember statistics measure the past,
not the future, and medicine is getting better all the time. The outlook is MUCH better
today than it was 20, 10, or even five years ago. Second, we have new tools proven to