New center aims to expand kidney disease treatments in NM

It's like they are part doctors and part detectives.

A longtime New Mexico medical group recently launched a new disease center that aims to treat patients with a specific form of kidney disease and also answer a crucial question: Why are the diseases more prevalent in New Mexico than elsewhere?

The Glomerular Disease Center recently opened in Albuquerque. The disease center is part of Renal Medicine Associates, a longtime medical group that has treated New Mexico patients with kidney disease for 52 years.

The center's director, Dr. George Vasquez-Rios, was recruited to the clinic because he's an expert on glomerular diseases.

Originally from Peru, Vasquez-Rios after medical school completed a nephrology fellowship and an additional year studying glomerular diseases, which are a particular type of kidney disease. He also has a master's degree in clinical research with an emphasis on glomerular diseases. Much of his education after medical school was at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

"In the last 10 to 15 years, the nephrology world has seen a lot of advances in terms of diagnostic and treatment options for patients with glomerular diseases," said Dr. Hector Castro, the vice president of Renal Medicine Associates. "And we said, 'OK, how can we approach this situation so we can offer and deliver the best possible state-of-the-art care for our patients?' And it starts with recruiting."

Vasquez-Rios described glomeruli as almost a screen of sorts that separates toxins and waste from the blood. He said it is a complex structure, and the patients with kidney disease in New Mexico are disproportionately affected with unique cases of glomerular disease.

"It became evident that there were a lot of these inflammatory (kidney) diseases, or glomerular diseases, that were present here," he said. "Why we have so much is unclear."

He said there could be genetic factors because of the high Hispanic and Native American populations in New Mexico. The diseases could also be linked to pollutants, environmental toxins or even water.

"So we're hoping that with our Glomerular Disease Center, we can gather some data, put some data together to start evaluating what are the reasons, or why these conditions are more broad here," Vasquez-Rios said. "The higher purpose is to understand why these things are happening, and how we can best take care of our patients here in New Mexico."

The center is set up so that the certain patients with complex diseases that are treated by doctors at Renal Medical Associates will be funneled to the Glomerular Disease Center.

The disease center will bring new treatments for kidney diseases that New Mexicans previously may not have had access to. The center is also working with pharmaceutical companies to get its patients more access to clinical trials.

The disease center is designed to create a support system to treat the patient, Vasquez-Rios said. The different types of medications can come with different side effects, and he said regularly following up with patients, even with phone calls or virtual visits, will be key. The patients will not only see doctors but also dieticians and get recommendations on how to best exercise and prevent infections.

"We have the manpower and energy it demands," Vasquez-Rios said. "We have access to novel regiments that are happening. We are in constant collaboration with other experts in the field."

For example, Vasquez-Rios said there's a new drug that is used to treat IgA nephropathy, an inflammatory condition of the kidney that is most common in younger women. He said the new drug blocks two different pathways. The center is meeting with medical representatives and researching the drug to find out exactly which patients would benefit most from it.

Until recently, he said doctors would usually use oral steroids that come with severe side effects to treat the condition.

"Treating patients with (glomerular) conditions, there is an abundance of information, it's becoming much more complex, much more sophisticated, and not all nephrologists are going to feel comfortable using these medications," he said.

How will the center measure success? That's not that complicated.

"That we can control the disease, recover kidney function and improve patient mortality," he said. "That fewer patients end up on dialysis, rehospitalization and death. Those are the important markers."

The center even caught the attention of the New Mexico Department of Health.

“The Department of Health is excited to welcome a new member in our state’s provider network in caring for New Mexicans with kidney diseases including chronic renal disease," Dr. José A. Acosta, the DOH's Public Health Division director, said. "This is particularly important as such conditions often affect people with diabetes, hypertension and various other health issues. We appreciate the commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of our community.”

Castro said the new disease center is just one of the many fields that Renal Medicine Associates has a significant level of expertise in. He said the center treats thousands of patients across New Mexico.

"Despite the fact that we're a private practice, we've always been proud that we keep up with medical advances, medical technology and medical diagnostic testing," Castro said. "The science of medicine in our field is progressing, and we want to be able to deliver state-of-the-art treatment."