New Doctor of Medical Science conducts research into better treatment of kidney patients
Associate Professor Rikke Nørregaard from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital has defended her higher doctoral dissertation and can now call herself Doctor of Medical Science. She conducts research into kidney diseases and kidney function with the aim of improving treatment of kidney patients.
Around ten per cent of the population suffer from chronic kidney disease, making it a significant cause of death around the world. Many patients with chronic kidney disease have inflammation which leads to the normal kidney tissue being replaced by scar tissue, also known as fibrosis. When this happens, kidney function is reduced and in a worst case scenario, the patients have to begin treatment with dialysis or undergo a kidney transplantation.
In her higher doctoral dissertation, Rikke Nørregaard examines kidney function in patients with both congenital and non-congenital kidney diseases in which urine cannot drain out to the bladder. This is the case for patients with kidney stones, cancer of the urinary tract or enlarged prostrate, and also in patients with congenital urine tract defects, which is the most frequent cause of kidney failure among children.
Rikke Nørregaard’s hope is that a better understanding of specific cellular mechanisms will, in the long term, lead to new treatment possibilities for patients with advanced chronic kidney diseases.
Contact
Associate Professor, DMSc Rikke Nørregaard
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, The Surgical Research Laboratories
Mobile: (+45) 20 86 20 00
Email: rn@clin.au.dk