California News Reporter

ERA-EDTA is organizing a series of e-seminars to initiate open discussion within the nephrology community on how to apply the findings of recent trials to the needs of patients. The e-seminars will bring together kidney disease experts to provide a detailed update on the latest studies, give information on study design, study population and results, and, most importantly, to evaluate the results by putting them into context and discussing their relevance for clinical practice.

A comprehensive range of topics will be discussed in the new e-seminar series. The theme of the kick-off e-seminar on October 15th was “SGLT2 inhibitors in CKD”. Professor Christoph Wanner, Germany, Professor Hiddo J.L. Heerspink, Netherlands, and Professor Gert Mayer, Austria, shared their experience of this new class of drugs and its potential for slowing CKD progression. “We believe it is important to provide the nephrology community a clearer understanding of the benefits and risks associated with this relatively new class of drugs”, explains ERA-EDTA President, Professor Christoph Wanner. “The e-seminar has triggered a very high level of interest within the nephrological community and we will continue the series by looking at other new classes of drugs that are relevant for kidney patients.”

Beyond that, the series will also focus on current and newsworthy topics, such as COVID-19 and results from the ERACODA registry, a European database collecting clinical information on kidney replacement patients with COVID-19. Preliminary data show that pre-existing kidney injury appears to increase significantly the risk of severe progression and death. According to figures from Italy, the risk of dying of COVID-19 increased 2.6-fold in hemodialysis patients compared to patients without kidney disease. “In a nutshell: Our patients are highly vulnerable. Confronted with a second wave of coronavirus infection across Europe, we need to gain further insights and share knowledge on how to protect our patient population from infection and on how best to treat those who have caught the disease”, concludes Professor Wanner. “The coronavirus has massively increased the need for medical education, but at the same time has impacted and limited such education. The virus has generated a need for remote learning strategies, to which we have responded with our new series.”

Another set of e-seminars offered by ERA-EDTA will be organized by the ERA-EDTA working groups and will present the current state of the art in diagnosing and treating the various nephrological indications. “These updates are offered to ERA-EDTA members exclusively, as a special service to all those who have joined our association. These e-seminars are particularly invaluable for young doctors and/or PA students.”

The e-seminars can all be attended free of charge. You can find information about upcoming events and watch recordings of past events on https://www.era-edta.org/en/e-seminars

About ERA-EDTA

With more than 7,000 active members, the ERA-EDTA is one of the biggest nephrology associations worldwide leading European nephrology and one of the most important European Medical Associations. It organizes annual congresses and other educational and scientific activities. ERA-EDTA also produces guidelines, collects data, and performs epidemiological studies through its Registry. The Society supports fellowships and educational/research projects through its committees and working groups. Its publications are NDT, CKJ (Open Access journal), and the online educational journal NDT-Educational.

Website www.era-edta.org