Current Approaches to Kidney and Urinary Tract Disorders

The Kidney & Urology Foundation of America welcomed more than 135 medical professionals on Friday, October 13 for an interdisciplinary symposium, ‘Current Approaches to Kidney and Urinary Tract Disorders in Older Patients.’ The program, held in New York City, and chaired by Michael F. Michelis, MD, Director of the Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC and Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine, was  intended for nephrologists, urologists, gerontologists, internists, pathologists, pharmacists and allied medical professionals.

According to the American Geriatrics Society, “As the baby boom ages, conservative estimates suggest that the population of Americans 65 and older will more than double from 35 million today to more than 78 million in 2050. The group 85 and over will quadruple to 18.2 million; and if current trends in life expectancy continue, this number may be closer to 30 million.”  As a result, medical caregivers will likely spend a significant proportion of their careers providing care to older patients.

‘Current Approaches to Kidney and Urinary Tract Disorders in Older Patients’, the latest installment of the Foundation’s prestigious, National Professional Education Series, brought together a significant faculty of internationally recognized physicians – leaders in their respective fields – to confront the critical issues in caring for the older patient today.

Dr. Fred Silva, Secretary-Treasurer and Executive Vice President of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology and Adjunct Professor of Pathology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA opened his presentation on ‘Aging and the Kidney’ with “The Seven Ages of Man” from Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It.’   ‘Cardiorenal Syndrome: an Overview and Treatment Approach’ was the title of the talk for Dr. Anju Nohria from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Robert Waldbaum, Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Urology at North-Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY and Clinical Professor of Urology at Cornell Medical School, who holds the position of Urology Board Chair at the Kidney & Urology Foundation, introduced the day’s urology panel. Among the highlight presentations was that of Dr. Steven A. Kaplan, Chief of the Institute of Bladder and Prostate Health at Weill Cornell Medical College who presented a well-received talk on ‘Male Pelvic Health.’