The European Renal Association (ERA) kicks off its 61st ERA Congress in Stockholm, Sweden, with a theme of "Rethinking kidney health, transforming kidney care," and a program full of sessions delving into the controversies, challenges and latest research developments in nephrology.
Representing the largest annual nephrology congress in Europe, the event is expected to draw more than 6500 participants from 125 countries, with approximately 250 speakers presenting on topics ranging from chronic kidney disease (CKD) and developments in dialysis to artificial intelligence and compelling findings from late-breaking clinical trials.
In the latter, key data will be presented in a full session devoted to the highly anticipated FLOW Study, a landmark trial showing positive kidney outcomes of treatment with glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist semaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes and CKD.
The session marks the first in the history of the ERA congress to focus entirely on the results and implications of a single trial.
"Breaking results from the FLOW study will be a highlight of the congress," Albert Ong, MD, chair of the ERA's Scientific Committee told Medscape Medical News.
"These [results] are likely to change clinical practice in a transformational way," said Ong, who is a professor of renal medicine, consultant nephrologist and clinical lead for genetics at The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Additionally, "exciting results on disease pathogenesis and new treatments will be presented in several late-breaking sessions."
Other late-breakers also delivering new insights on GLP-1s will include a secondary analysis of the pivotal SELECT trial describing semaglutide in the context of kidney function in people with obesity and cardiovascular disease.
And additional late-breaking research will include results from the pivotal, phase 3 APPEAR-C3G trial, evaluating oral factor B inhibitor iptacopan in the rare, progressive C3 glomerulopathy kidney disease, and groundbreaking findings relating to new biomarkers to help track kidney disease progression.
There will be a separate session on important clinical studies with feature results from the FIDELITY trial, evaluating a hyperkalemia risk and the effect of finerenone, as well as a study evaluating the effects of SGLT2 inhibition with and without GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Kidney Disease: A 'Global Public Health Emergency'
Ong selected the meeting's theme of "Rethinking Kidney Heath and Transforming Kidney Care" and underscored the congress's mission to recognize and address the global effect of kidney disease, which will be detailed in the session "CKD as a Global Health Issue: A Call to Action."
"The congress will highlight the importance of kidney disease as a global public health emergency; the importance of prevention, early detection, and early intervention," Ong said.
CME courses offered on day 1 of the meeting will cover an array of topics including bone mineral disorders in CKD and novel techniques for assessing vascular calcification.
A CME kidney transplantation session will feature a series of talks on referring the wide range of patients that clinicians encounter, such as the elderly patient, the obese patient, the nonadherent patient, and the patient with cardiovascular disease.
In a newly introduced PRO-CON debate format, experts will argue both sides on the topics of: "Treatment of obesity in diabetic kidney disease: New drugs are the answer," and "Should we still collect 24h urine to follow-up kidney stone formers?"
And among compelling featured plenaries delivered by leading international experts will be "Finding solutions for human life in the natural world," discussed by cardiologist and evolutionary biologist Barbara Natterson Horowitz, MD, of the United States; "Can we extend kidney health span?," presented by molecular biologist and geneticist Jan H.J. Hoeijmakers, PhD, of the Netherlands; and "Novel bio-inspired therapeutic strategies for kidney disease," presented by Rosaline Masereeuw, PhD, also of the Netherlands.
The extensive offerings, overall, should provide resonant insights and experiences to help boost clinicians' practice — and clinical outlook.
"We expect every person to take something away that will impact their daily practice, be inspired to do better research to improve the lives of kidney patients, and make lasting friendships with colleagues from around the world," Ong said.
The full 61st ERA Congress program is available online.