Urine Test for Cystic Fibrosis Patients is Beneficial: Study

Urine test for patients with cystic fibrosis could be beneficial, according to a new study. The study also provides insights on the effects of cystic fibrosis in the kidneys.

The first hormone-called secretin -was discovered in 1902.

Secretin stimulates the secretion of bicarbonate in the pancreas to neutralize acids. This requires a membrane protein and chloride channel called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), which is defective in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis, a condition that causes thick mucus to clog the lungs and obstruct the pancreas.

‘Urine test in cystic fibrosis patients beneficial, according to a new study. A urine test will help identify the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in individual patients and offer novel treatment strategies.’

In patients with this disease, there is no increase in urinary excretion of bicarbonate following treatment with secretin.

A team led by Jens Leipziger, MD, PhD (Aarhus University) and Karl Kunzelmann, MD, PhD (University of Regensburg) studied several mouse models, patients with cystic fibrosis, and different types of cells to define the mechanisms involved in the urinary excretion of bicarbonate, and how these mechanisms are affected by cystic fibrosis.

They also found that a urine test of bicarbonate may help to assess CFTR function in patients, which may be useful for assessing the potential of new medications.

"A simple urine test may become a useful tool to measure how much CFTR function is defective in each patient and also to see if novel treatment strategies have an effect," said Dr. Leipziger.

The study was published in JASN . Study co-authors include Peder Berg, Samuel L. Svendsen, Mads V. Sorensen, PhD, Casper K. Larsen, PhD, Jesper Frank Andersen, Soren Jensen-Fangel, MD, Majbritt Jeppesen, MD, PhD, Rainer Schreiber, and Ines Cabrita.



Source: Newswise