Cardiac Fibrosis in End Stage Renal Failure and Diabetes: Role of Simultaneous Pancreas And Kidney Transplantation (SPKT)

Principal Investigator – Mr Petros Yiannoullou

Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure on a global level. These patients also have the highest death rate of any group of renal failure patients mainly due to associated heart disease. It has been shown that simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation, which treats both Diabetes and kidney failure, has helpful effects on the complications of diabetes, particularly affecting the eyes and nerves and lengthening life expectancy. There is a need for doctors to understand the effect of diabetes on the heart as well as the potential benefits of simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplantation on improving its function. We aim to look at changes of levels of molecules in the blood and to compare it to alteration in X-rays performed of the heart around the time of transplantation and 6 months later. This will help us find markers of risk of heart disease before and after transplantation, helping us to identify and potentially treat patients who are at risk of heart disease earlier. This could be extremely important as it might allow us to treat diabetic patients with renal disease earlier to reduce the risk of heart attacks and also offer earlier transplants to those at highest risk.