According to experts in the field, chronic kidney disease, or CKD, is likely to become the 5th leading cause of death in the next 10 years.

“Such a significant increase is related to the fact that the top causes of death — cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, and liver diseases — most often coincide with kidney damage. This fact should not be ignored because of the aggravation of kidney problems with the course of other pathologies. We are already seeing a considerable growth in the number of cases of secondary nephropathies, in particular diabetic and hypertensive. At the same time, the number of cases of primary kidney diseases, such as nephritis or pyelonephritis, is getting smaller,” said Evgeny Shilov, Professor of the Department of Internal and Occupational Diseases and Rheumatology at Sechenov University, Chief Nephrologist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

Scientists offer an interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of CKD. Laboratory diagnostics will facilitate a quicker identification of the problem and prevent the disease from developing to a terminal stage. Because of this, the patients will be able to avoid complex and expensive treatment, such as renal replacement therapy (RRT), haemodialysis, and kidney transplantation.

Sechenov University specialists are involved in the creation of the framework for the nephrological service and development of new standards of patient care. They also participate in the creation of the Russian Register of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients and train a new generation of doctors. Currently, there are no more than 1,700 nephrologists in the country.

According to Sergey Moiseev, Head of the Department of Internal and Occupational Diseases and Rheumatology at Sechenov University, the number of students who want to do residency in nephrology is growing. “These young specialists will be developing the basic principles of the Russian school of nephrology, creating new research areas, and treating the patients according to improved standards,” he said.

Sechenov University trains nephrologists through a postgraduate professional education scheme. The nephrology certificate will allow the specialists to participate in advanced training programmes and lecture courses of the Department of Internal and Occupational Diseases and Rheumatology at Sechenov University.