Mitchell H. Rosner

Dr. Rosner, MD, is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Virginia. He has a strong interest in education and serves on a number of national committees devoted to educational aspects of medical training. He is co-director of the ASN Board Review Course. His research interests include the pathogenesis and management of disorders of sodium and water balance, the treatment of polycystic kidney disease, and the development of novel therapeutics for acute kidney injury.

Once again, NephMadness 2017 sets up strong contenders versus one another in epic battles reminiscent of 2015 and 2016.

In the Biomedical Research region, it is hard to bet against CRISPR-Cas9. This technology has already revolutionized science and the potential to correct genetic defects in the kidney is beyond exciting. One has to feel badly for the other technologies in this bracket- good luck, indeed.

In the Glomerulonephritis region, we find some controversial picks including protocol biopsies for lupus as well as rituximab in minimal change. However, if I were to wage my bets on an impactful pick that is strong going to the hoop as well as increasingly useful in clinical practice, I would go with anti-PLA2R in membranous nephropathy.

The Genetics region finds some interesting match-ups – who is not intrigued by the age-old battle of the cilia vs the podocyte? On the other hand, the fruit fly taking on the zebrafish brings up some interesting thoughts – how does that work anyway? In any case, I am going with the zebrafish. In recent years, the zebrafish has offered important insights into genetic development and most importantly, I just do not like insects.

In the age-old Diabetic Nephropathy region, I like the new kid on the block, the SLGT2 inhibitors which have shown their feistiness and surprising ability to protect their teammates (the kidney and heart).

The History region just tugs at your heartstrings – some old favorites here that keep grinding it out year after year. For the most bang for the buck, I like history of the kidney transplant. What a revolutionary and life-changing development (not that dialysis wasn’t). The dipstick and biopsy should drop out early in this bracket.

The tasty battle in the Nutrition region is sure to be won by the old powerhouse of protein restriction. Year after year, it will not go away. I do think protein restriction should be looking over its shoulder this year and microbiome is going to be tough.

The Disparities region includes tough contenders and there are no easy picks here. Since I have to choose one, I am going with society in ESKD, a topic that we should all think about

Here are my predictions for the Filtered Four:

history of the kidney transplant will go up against CRISPR

-and-

society in ESKD disparities will face off vs protein restriction

I have to think we will see CRISPR dominate throughout NephMadness 2017 and take on protein restriction in a battle of the new kid against the old establishment. Give me CRISPR all the way…but, then again, what do I know?

Read the first round posts yourself and make your own predictions by March 24th!

-Post written by Mitch Rosner

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