Dr Asher Mendelson, Internal Medicine resident representing UBC and the ACP BC Chapter at the American College of Physicians conference in San Francisco received the Associate Abstract Competition Research poster award. His work, “The Efficacy and Biocompatability of a Novel Polymer-based Solution in a Rodent Model of Peritoneal Dialysis,” was selected in the category of basic research, Internal Medicine Division.
Early in Dr. Mendelson’s career, the daily challenges and limited options for patients and physicians surrounding end stage kidney disease inspirited Asher to focus on finding improved therapy options for Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) patients. The real need for advancements in dialysis therapy lead to the development of The UBC Peritoneal Dialysis Research Program, now co-funded by the BC Renal Agency and CIHR.
Kidney disease is a common complication faced by patients with diabetes, ultimately requiring transplantation, hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Current PD treatments utilize glucose to generate an osmotic gradient and remove fluid from the body. Yet, as the glucose is easily absorbed into the bloodstream from the peritoneal cavity, this method of treatment poses a particular challenge for patients already struggling to control their diabetes.
Working as part of a collaborative team of clinical nephrologists, polymer chemists, and molecular biologists, they have designed a new synthetic molecule to act as a glucose-substitute in PD fluid. This novel polymer contains no sugar or starch, and has shown to effectively remove waste and water from the body. Moreover, as compared to conventional PD solutions, the damage to the peritoneal membrane is significantly reduced. This technology is currently being evaluated in pre-clinical diabetic models and their recent publication can be found in the January issue of Peritoneal Dialysis International.
Dr. Mendelson’s passion for collaborative translational research stems from the desire to improve patient outcome and improve the general practice of medicine. In addition to continuing his research in peritoneal dialysis, Dr. Mendelson will begin clinical training as a critical care fellow and aims to apply many of these research concepts to the understanding of fluid dynamics and resuscitation during shock.