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Major grant towards research into polycystic kidney disease (PKD)

Researchers at Aarhus University have received DKK three million towards a project that will conduct research into preventing and treating polycystic kidney disease.

2019.02.07 | Helle Horskjær Hansen

The project is being carried out in a collaboration between Lone Sunde, Henrik Birn and Marlene Nielsen from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University and the Department of Clinical Genetics and Department of Renal Medicine at Aarhus University Hospital, together with Maria Rasmussen and Dorte Lildballe from the Department of Clinical Genetics at Hospital Lillebaelt. Photo: AU Communication.

The project is being carried out in a collaboration between Lone Sunde, Henrik Birn and Marlene Nielsen from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University and the Department of Clinical Genetics and Department of Renal Medicine at Aarhus University Hospital, together with Maria Rasmussen and Dorte Lildballe from the Department of Clinical Genetics at Hospital Lillebaelt. Photo: AU Communication.

Today, there is no treatment that is able to prevent the growth of the kidney cysts and the treatments which have been tested have shown no or only a limited effect with many side effects. The renal disease is serious, because the fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys lead to decreased kidney function with the only option often being a kidney transplantation.

Professor Lone Sunde from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University has just received a grant of DKK three million from the Karen Elise Jensens Foundation to conduct research into preventing and treating the disease. 

Working with her colleagues, Lone Sunde aims to identify markers that can predict the disease in patients. She will also examine the possibility of delivering medicines directly into the cysts in order to protect the rest of the body and of utilising genetic screening techniques to find new causes of the disease. 

It is hoped that the research results can be utilised to design targeted patient control procedures, increase the effect and at the same time reduce the side effects of treatment, as well as identifying new points of attack for future treatment and prevention.

Contact 

Professor Lone Sunde
Aarhus University, Department of Biomedicine
(+45) 4014 4364
ls@biomed.au.dk

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