Better ways to predict kidney disease risk for African Americans

Friday, October 14, 2011 - 03:31 in Health & Medicine

Compared to European Americans, African Americans are four to five times more likely to develop kidney failure. Also, family members of African Americans with kidney failure have an increased risk of developing kidney failure, which suggests that genetics may play a role in this skewed risk between races. Previous studies identified variants in a gene called APOL1 that may play a role. The APOL1 gene creates a protein that is a component of HDL, or good cholesterol.

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