A device called the "Liposorber LA-15 System" has been approved by the
United States Food and Drug Administration for treating kids with focal
segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The "Liposorber LA-15 System" can only be used if other treatment options, like drugs, don't work or can't be used,
but the kidneys are still working okay. It can also be used if the subject
has had a kidney transplant and the FSGS comes back after the
transplant. Although the Liposorber System can be used for FSGS, we
are not sure how well the Liposorber System works. So, we are doing this
study to find out how well the treatment works in adults.
In this research study, there will be up to 5 adults who have FSGS
enrolled at MUSC. Subjects will come back for up to 12 treatments over 9
weeks and then 5 visits to their study doctor over the next 2 years.

If you have a glomerular disease, have had kidney biopsy in the last 5 years, are not on dialysis, and have not had a kidney transplant or was previously enrolled in the NEPTUNE study, you may be eligible to take part in this research study. The purpose of this study is to gather a group of patients with glomerular disease to create a source of information along with your kidney biopsy slides, blood, and urine samples so that researchers can easily and effectively study glomerular disease.

Overwhelming evidence exists that some types of proteinuric kidney diseases are caused by factor(s) present in patients' blood. Identification and characterization of such factor(s) would greatly help in better and noninvasive diagnosis of such conditions, development of better therapeutic options and potentially reveal underlying pathogenic mechanisms.
Owing to tremendous capabilities of proteomics facility within the Division of Nephrology we developed experiments that we think will result in significant improvement in our knowledge of major kidney diseases.

Currently, kidney disease affects up to 20% of the US population and is a strong contributor to morbidity and mortality in these patients. Specific therapies and diagnostic tools for kidney disease have been very slow to develop because of the absence of high quality samples and data that can be used for research studies. The purpose of this study is to develop a registry and sample bank called Poseidon (Prevention, Optimizing Safety, Early Intervention and DetectiOn in Nephrology) biobank that can be used for future research. In this study, patients can consent to donating their residual kidney tissue if they undergo a kidney biopsy and blood or urine during routine clinical care procedures. We will also collect blood and urine outside of clinical care.This study will allow biomedical research the ability to obtain specimens from patients with relevant diseases and appropriate clinical data. This study will collect patient demographic, clinical and historical data for a registry and patient samples will be deposited in the Poseidon biobank. Patients do not have to be diagnosed with Kidney Disease to be included in this study.

Kidney failure occurring after heart failure is a serious problem leading to prolonged ICU stay, prolonged hospitalization, dialysis and death. The goal of this study is to identify patients who will develop severe kidney failure after heart surgery. Early identification of patients who will develop kidney failure after surgery will allow earlier and better treatment to prevent this complication. In this study, urine is collected after surgery and analyzed to determine the concentration of many proteins. These proteins are potential biomarkers to predict the development of kidney failure. This is a multi-center study funded by the National Institutes of Health. It is being performed at Duke University, George Washington University and the University of Tennessee. MUSC is the lead center.