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Scientific Research

Frequency of chronic renal disease is increasing worldwide, and is already a human, social, and economic threat.

When renal failure arrives to its terminal stages, life-saving therapies such as dialysis and transplantation are the only options, but they worsen the quality of life of the patient and have high economical costs. For instance, the prevision of Dialysis costs in United States, in the year 2010, are estimated in the order of more than 30 billion dollars. 

This dramatic situation has prompted almost all countries to intensify the efforts to prevent the diseases that most frequently lead to progressive renal insufficiency, or at least to slow the progression of renal failure, although it is becoming clearer and clearer that even initial stages of kidney damage are linked to an increased frequency of cardiovascular complications. 

Renal Research is therefore the only possible solution to these problems. 

Thanks to the contributions of D'Amico Foundation, specialized researchers work in the Renal Research Laboratory on specific research programmes, which are conducted either independently or in collaboration with many Italian and International Centres. These activities are promptly disseminated by publication on peer-reviewed journals. 

The Laboratory of the Foundation has also participated to research programmes funded by the European Union (grant EU QLG1-CT-2002-01215) and the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) (progetto FIRB RBA U013W 3J_009).

Our Laboratory is recognized for its longstanding experience in the study of renal biopsy (see our Histopathological Atlas of Renal Diseases), and is completely equipped for histology, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization procedures. In the last years, thanks to collaborative activities, to the recruitment of specialized personnel, and the acquisition of adequate instruments, we have improved and updated our cellular and molecular biology techniques, and acquired and studied several experimental models of renal diseases. 
Our main line of research is on glomerular filtration and podocyte biology. Some of our data, not yet published, have been collected in a patent application filed by our Foundation, which has entered at present the National Phases. We have in fact discovered that podocytes are using neuron-like systems of communication and we are developing this area of research by using in vitro and in vivo systems of investigation.