Divisions

Nephrology

Sudhir V. Shah, M.D.
Professor and Director

Clinical Programs and Facilities

The Division of Nephrology maintains inpatient and consultative clinical programs at the University and VA Hospitals. There is an inpatient Nephrology Service at University Hospital located on a renal ward unit and a renal consultation service for both hospitals. Dialysis units and renal clinics are located at both hospitals, and a renal transplant program is housed at University Hospital.

The Division sponsors a number of regularly scheduled conferences including weekly Journal Club, End Stage Renal Disease Conference, and Renal Transplant Conference. Nephrology morning report is conducted once weekly. A series of lectures discussing renal physiology and pathophysiology are conducted each month for the house staff and students rotating on the consult service. There are a number of research conferences in Nephrology attended in conjunction with other divisions given by the faculty or visiting professors.

On either the inpatient or the consult service, teaching rounds are made daily and the students and house staff are exposed to a wide variety of fluid and electrolyte problems, acute and chronic renal failure, and hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis techniques. The house staff on the consult service also attend a weekly outpatient renal clinic at the University.

This year we will perform approximately 80 renal transplants, including pancreatic-renal transplantation. The nephrology staff is involved in the preoperative evaluation to determine suitability for transplantation, as well as postoperative hospital course of the recipient. This includes management of fluid and electrolyte balance, diagnostic evaluation of renal function (including biopsy), and management of immunosuppressant agents. Outpatient care is also provided by the Nephrology staff.
Research Programs and Facilities

The Division of Nephrology maintains an active program of research, both basic and clinical. The basic research activities of the Division are supported by NIH, the Veterans Administration, the American Heart Association, and the clinical research is supported in part by the pharmaceutical industry. The major research projects include: the role of phospholipase A2 in acute ischemic injury to the kidney; the role of reactive oxygen species in renal injury, utilizing freshly isolated glomeruli and cultured cells, the role of endonuclease in renal epithelial injury, carbamylation in renal failure leading to vascular injury and in vivo models of glomerular disease and acute renal failure.

A major thrust in the division is on translational research. Novel agents to block the reactive oxygen species in renal injury models are planned to be evaluated in clinical trials. The role of carbamylation of proteins in renal insufficiency is being looked into in a large prospective trial to see if they influence cardiovascular burden of the disease.

Clinical studies include many pharmaceutical sponsored trials on hypertension, anemia and transplantation. A multi center cooperative study sponsored by NIH is ongoing to look at the outcome of acute renal failure in relationship to the intensity of dialysis support provided.
 

Contact Information:

Jolynda Bowman
Nephrology Program Coordinator
4301 W. Markham St., #501
Little Rock, AR 72205

Phone: 501-686-5295

Fax:  501-686-7878

bowmanjolyndar@uams.edu