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As 2013 comes to a close, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support of Kidney Health Australia.

It’s hard to believe that we’re about to enter the silly season yet again; 2013 has flown by and it certainly has been an exciting and successful year for KHA.

Our organisation marked a significant milestone this year, celebrating our 45th Anniversary and awarding 8 new research grants maintaining our $500,000 per annum commitment to kidney research; we expanded our lotteries team; made substantial in-roads into kidney health education in Indigenous communities; and successfully lobbied for Federal funding for the Live Donor Leave Scheme, which is currently being piloted.

You may have also seen that this year’s Christmas appeal is now in full swing and features 12 year old Mellony, a very special member of our kidney community. Mellony has been participating in our Kids Camps for many years and her story reminds us all of the positive impact that KHA’s programs have on Australians living with kidney disease. I’d like to thank Mellony for sharing her story with us to help raise vital funds this Christmas.

I’m very proud of everything that we have been able to achieve together this year and am looking forward to continuing our work in 2014, and sharing news of our many exciting projects with you as the year unfolds.

On behalf of the Board and entire Kidney Health Australia team, I’d like to wish you all the very best for a safe and happy festive season; may it be filled with many special moments with family and friends, and much joy and celebration.Anne WilsonChief Executive Officer

Issue 34 – December 2013Kidney Community

From the CEO

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Kidney Health Australia’s advocacy to Federal, State and Territory governments continues, against the backdrop of a great deal of change in the political environment. Federally, Kidney Health Australia has already met with the Minister for Health’s office to highlight the key issues outlined in our National Action Plan to Tackle Kidney Disease, which can be found at http://www.kidney.org.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=q7Tycmhu6D0%3d&tabid=846&mid=1962 and we will continue to meet over the coming weeks and months.

We’ve also made a submission to the National Commission of Audit, which is looking at the full range, responsibilities and programs run by the Federal Government in each portfolio area. In our submission, Kidney Health Australia has highlighted how improved measures to address early detection, better support for home dialysis and increased live donor support could benefit both patients and the budget bottom line. In the coming weeks, we will be preparing further submissions on a range of topics, as the new government undertakes consultation on the structure

of the health system. In addition, we will of course be meeting with many of the new MPs in Canberra, especially those with a strong interest in kidney health and chronic disease.

In NSW, Kidney Health Australia had a very productive meeting with the Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Health, discussing a range of issues relating to dialysis and organ donation in the state, and pressed the case for improvement. In an ongoing effort to bolster our advocacy efforts at a state level, Kidney Health Australia has also joined an alliance with the Cancer Council (Victoria) and a range of other peak health and social policy organisations as part of the ‘Alliance to Improve the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme’. This builds upon our recent success in securing an improved transport reimbursement scheme in the Northern Territory, and our recent submission to the South Australian government, calling for improvements to their model. Next year promises to be an even busier year for our advocacy efforts, with three State elections and the new Federal Government’s first budget.

Government Relations update

The recent public debate about the contribution of saturated fats to increasing blood cholesterol and the prescription of statins has stimulated a lot of interest and some surveys of general practitioners have shown that 40% of patients who expressed concern to their doctor had already stopped taking the anti-cholesterol pill.

Strong evidence now exists from a very large trial aimed specifically at answering the question – “Do people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) benefit from a statin?” This trial has shown a significant (17%) benefit in reducing heart attacks and stroke in people with CKD which is the same benefit experienced in people without CKD.

People with important CKD (CKD stage 3b or greater) are in the highest risk category for cardiovascular events and this risk is much greater than the risk of progressing to dialysis. The message is clear – for people with important CKD the case for being on a statin is strong. New National and International Guidelines now recommend that all people with important CKD should be on a statin medication, even if their starting cholesterol is in the low-normal range.

The benefit of statins is present irrespective of the cholesterol level.

People with CKD therefore have a special reason for being on a statin and should not consider stopping the medication before discussing the situation with your local doctor or nephrologist.

HEALTH/MEDICAL

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Don’t stop your cholesterol pills!

MEDICAL MATTERS –

The 2013 American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week was held on November 7-10 in Atlanta. This is an immensely popular meeting for kidney specialists all over the world,

with over 14,000 attendees. The program was packed with sessions from early in the morning to late at night, with at times over 20 parallel sessions to choose from. Overall the meeting was one of reinforcement of existing knowledge rather than of discovery. Some of the highlights for me were:

• The full reporting of the bardoxolone trial, which confirmed that this agent can improve kidney function significantly in people with serious diabetic kidney disease, and suggested that the reasons this trial was stopped prematurely may have been avoidable. This opens the way for related agents to be trialled, with the hope that an agent truly effective in improving kidney outcomes may be developed.

• A strong emphasis on nutrition “What should I eat Doctor?” that focussed on food additives such as unwanted phosphate (injected into meat), the kidney toxicity of many herbs, the ambiguous evidence around the role of salt in blood pressure and CKD and the ideal protein intake. Particular emphasis for people with CKD was placed on favouring alkaline foods (most fruits, green vegetables, peas, beans, nuts, etc.) and minimising the intake of acid forming foods (including meat, fish, poultry, eggs, grains, and legumes).

• In polycystic kidney disease (PKD), the efficacy of octreotide in improving outcomes appears to match that previously reported with tolvaptan. However, both agents are expensive and have side effects. Nevertheless progress is occurring. Until these or other agents are available in Australia the best advice for those with PKD appears to be to limit salt and protein intake and increase fluid throughput.

• An excellent session was held on supportive care for people not wanting to be dialysed. The dominant focus was on the need for a “shared decision making” process and the need to plan well ahead. An international consensus forum is to be held in early December to begin the process of developing a Guideline in this area.

• Outstanding talks addressed basic research areas such as pharmacogenomics, the genetic basis to cystic diseases and the basic mechanism by which kidney damage or fibrosis occurs. These talks were strong reminders about the essential need for laboratory based research without which basic understanding of disease processes cannot occur.

“�My�final�conclusion�is�that�Nephrology�is�alive�and�prospering.�“The�elephant�in�the�room”�continues�to�be�the�absence�of�any�real�progress�in�the�challenging�world�of�dialysis.”

From�Dr�Tim�Mathew

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CONSUMER CORNER

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Incy Wincy

When I was three my mother used to play “Incy, Wincy Spider” with me. While she recited the nursery rhyme I would try to copy both her movements and what she was saying. I would always say “water spouch” instead of “water spout” and Mum remembered that for years. I could make the movement of the rain coming down, holding out my splayed fingers and letting my hands fall to my lap with a satisfying smack, like real rain hitting the ground. I could do the sunshine, stretching my arms up and out like the rays of the sun and I could do the rain drying up, my fingers rising, twinkling like disappearing water. I could never do Incy Wincy climbing up the spouch; the graceful swinging and folding of index finger to thumb across to their opposites on the other hand. It was mesmerising and really looked like Incy was climbing the water spouch. Time and again I flapped my hands like panicked starfish trying to work out the moves. Finally, I got them, and I felt a kind of buzz of achievement in my head. The movement also had a signature “feel”.

Fifty years later I’m using the same kind of movements as my index fingers and thumbs leapfrog each other as I close clamps on my dialysis lines in preparation for each night’s dialysis. It’s a routine action and one that I found worked best doing the Incy Wincy thing. But each time I do it I feel the wonderful feeling of the Incy Wincy action that my mother taught me and am reminded of the pleasure that this little rhyme from my mother gave me. It made me think that even in a routine like this, one can be reminded of the pleasures of life.

Thank you to Maurice Serico for sharing this lovely anecdote about finding the positive in every moment, even the difficult ones.

Don’t stop your cholesterol pills!

LET’S BE FRIENDS! Like Kidney Health Australia on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KIDNEYHEALTHAUST

KHA in the communityKidney Health Australia was recently had the opportunity

to present to Carlton United Breweries (CUB) staff at the Yatala Brewery in Queensland. The Brewery places a high importance on the health and wellbeing of their CUB employees and offers an Employee Wellness Program to their staff. Kidney Health Australia were invited to be guest speakers over 3 consecutive weeks and delivered Kidney Health Awareness Education to the Yatala employees.

Amy Sproule, CUB Health and Wellness Coordinator said: “We want our workforce at CUB to be happy, healthy and fit for work and to know that we’re concerned about their well-being. Our Wellness Program has been running for 9 years and some of the components include: Health Screenings, services from physiotherapists, dieticians, podiatrists and other allied health providers, various Employee Assistance Programs and Health Education”.

“Our Employee Health Education program gives staff across all rotating shifts the opportunity to tuck into a healthy lunch provided by the Company, an opportunity to connect with colleagues and receive health education on a wide variety of health conditions. KHA’s preventative health education session aids to assist our staff to make healthier lifestyle choices, and at the same highlight those conditions often closely associated with kidney disease such as diabetes and heart disease. Feedback from our staff was very positive, and they were very interested in hearing about conditions that they had otherwise not really heard about or knew much about”.

If you are interested in holding a Kidney Health Awareness Education session at your workplace, please contact 1800 454 363.

Enjoyed a good read?Then do a good deed,When you get to the end, Please send to a friend!

KHA hosted its 45th Anniversary and Research Grant Awards Dinner on Thursday 28 November at Persimmon Restaurant in Melbourne. Over 100 special guests were in attendance ranging from Australia’s leading clinicians, heads of philanthropic institutions, major donors, and members of the research community.

Guests were able to hear from a range of inspiring speakers including KHA CEO Anne Wilson, Prof Warwick Anderson, Grant Monks, Prof David Harris and KHA Medical Director Dr Tim Mathew with MC Brett McLeod hosting the evening.

The night was full of celebrations, acknowledging how far the organisation has come over 45 years, and our determination to continue and grow in the future. Over $310,000 of Research and Project Grants were presented to eight awardees; we congratulate and wish them well in their future work.

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KIDNEY CALENDAR AND EVENTS

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45 Year Anniversary

Bruschetta

LIFESTYLE RECIPE

Great for serving as a light meal or perfect for picnics and entertaining, this healthy and filling Bruschetta recipe is suitable for people living with kidney disease, diabetes, heart disease and people who are on dialysis.

INGREDIENTS4 slices sourdough bread

Olive oil for brushing

1 clove of garlic

2 red capsicums, roasted and sliced

1 large (250g) cooked chicken breast fillet, shredded

½ cup basil leaves

CKD, DIALYSIS AND DIABETES-FRIENDLY

Each serve of this recipe will provide:1210kJ, 20g protein, 14.5g fat, 20g carbohydrate, 265mg potassium, 205mg phosphate and 235mg sodium.

METHOD1. To make the dressing, combine

all ingredients in a jar and mix until sugar is dissolved, set aside.

2. Toast the bread, brush with oil and rub with garlic.

3. Mix chicken, capsicum and basil in a bowl. Top each slice of bread with this mixture.

4. Spoon dressing over to serve.

SERVES 4

Recipe is taken from ‘Dining In – Delicious Dialysis Recipes and Meals’, the Renal Resource Centre, NSW.

8 DecemberCANBERRA KIDNEY CLUB – 12.30pm to 2.30pm, Canberra Southern Club Woden, Orion Room, 92-96 Corinna Street, Woden, Act.

20 December – 1 January KIDNEY HEALTH AUSTRLIAHEAD OFFICE AND KHIS LINE CLOSED

25 December CHRISTMAS DAY

26 January BIG RED BBQ – Take the five ingredient challenge on Australia Day 2014! Register to host a BBQ and raise funds for KHA at www.bigredbbq.com.au