ROCKVILLE, MD / ACCESSWIRE / May 3, 2021 / The American Kidney Fund (AKF) today announced a webinar, Cystatin C: Its utility as an alternative for creatinine-based eGFR, to educate healthcare practitioners about the cystatin C testing option for kidney health and help them effectively communicate about testing options to patients. The webinar, sponsored by Gentian Diagnostics, will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, May 4, 2021 from 1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. ET.

Cystatin C is a protein used as a biomarker for kidney function. When a healthcare practitioner suspects a patient may have decreased kidney function, a cystatin C test may be ordered to help assess how well the kidneys are filtering. Measurement of serum cystatin C is gaining a greater role in the estimation of kidney function, particularly as the kidney community considers moving away from the current race-based eGFR equation which depends on creatinine measurement.

"Cystatin C can play an important role in providing an unbiased estimate of kidney function so that every individual may receive personalized, appropriate and equitable care," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF president and CEO. "With the support from Gentian Diagnostics, AKF is pleased to host a professional webinar to help educate prescribers and allied health professionals about the use of cystatin C to assess kidney function."

The webinar will feature panelists globally respected in their fields of study, including:

• Amy Karger, MD, PhD, associate professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota
• Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, professor of epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University
• Michael Shlipak, MD, MPH, professor of medicine, University of California San Francisco
• Michelle Estrella, MD, MHS, associate professor of medicine, University of California San Francisco
• Moderator: Silas Norman, MD, MPH, co-medical director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, University of Michigan, director of the Transplant Multi-Specialty Ambulatory Clinic and member of the AKF Board of Trustees

During this interactive webinar, the multidisciplinary panel of experts will delve into the utility of the cystatin C test in diagnosing kidney disease. They will discuss why cystatin C could help eliminate racial bias and improve precision in treatment; the importance of educating the nephrology community on cystatin C; situations in which measuring cystatin C may be clinically useful; and the effort to encourage laboratories to bring this testing in-house.

"The pandemic has highlighted the criticality of clinical diagnostics, and the potential value that can be unlocked by innovations contributing to diagnostic efficiency," said Dr. Hilja Ibert, CEO of Gentian Diagnostics. "Gentian is proud to partner with the American Kidney Fund on this important topic and help support their mission in fighting kidney disease."

About the American Kidney Fund
The American Kidney Fund (AKF) fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nation's leading kidney nonprofit. AKF works on behalf of the 37 million Americans living with kidney disease, and the millions more at risk, with an unmatched scope of programs that support people wherever they are in their fight against kidney disease-from prevention through transplant. With programs that address early detection, disease management, financial assistance, clinical research, innovation and advocacy, no kidney organization impacts more lives than AKF. AKF is one of the nation's top-rated nonprofits, investing 97 cents of every donated dollar in programs, and holds the highest 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator and the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar. For more information, please visit KidneyFund.org, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Gentian
Gentian is a Norwegian diagnostics company that specializes in making novel biomarkers available on the Particle-Enhanced Turbidimetric Immunoassay (PETIA) platform. The company's first commercially available product, The Gentian Cystatin C assay, was launched in 2006 and FDA 510k cleared in 2008. Gentian has since established itself as a global leader in the manufacture of cystatin C assays with its method being one of the few used to evaluate the commutability of the IFCC reference standard. Gentian's current portfolio of diagnostic reagents spans areas of kidney disease, cardiac disease, inflammation, infection and veterinary medicine.

Contacts
Ben Shannon
akf@jpa.com

Links
https://www.kidneyfund.org/training/webinars/cystatin-c.html

SOURCE: American Kidney Fund