Note from the Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief
norbert.lameire{at}ugent.be
As was the case last year, the special feature on World Kidney Day, 8 March 2007, appears jointly in the four major leading nephrology journals, Kidney International, the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the American Journal of Kidney Diseases and Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. The concept of a World Kidney Day is an initiative of the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF) and the International Society of Nephrology (ISN).
This year, much more preparation has gone into World Kidney Day than in 2006 and many people and organizations have worked hard to make it a success. As the major educational vehicle of the ERA-EDTA on all aspects of nephrology, our journal, together with its sister web-based journal, NDT educational, wishes to join this outstanding initiative and hopes it will contribute to a better diffusion of the still insufficiently recognized message that ‘kidney disease is common, harmful and treatable’.
The cooperation between the ISN COMGAN CME programmes and the ERA-EDTA educational courses is testimony to the common efforts made by our organizations.
Coincidentally, in this issue, the journal publishes two editorials on the presumably changing epidemiology of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), particularly in the Western world (United States and Europe).
Drs Eli and Amy Friedman very carefully discuss the declining trends in ESRD attributed to diabetes mellitus in the United States, while Drs Kitty Jager and Paul van Dijk explore the situation in those countries reporting to the ERA-EDTA Registry.
Both in the US and mainly in Northern Europe, the tide in ESRD seems to be turning, or at least stabilizing, and one of the reasons may be a more efficient incorporation of renoprotection into standard care of diabetic and hypertensive patients.
However, in both editorials, the authors call for great caution with this interpretation and, as stated by Drs Friedman, it is far too early to celebrate a victory for renoprotection.
I hope our readers will actively participate in the local and regional activities organized around Word Kidney Day. After reading the editorials mentioned above, you will all realize that many more World Kidney Days will be needed before victory may be declared.
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