Satish P. Ramachandra Rao, Director of the Centre for Exosome Research, sharing a lighter moment with G. Paddaiah, AU former professor, at a seminar on CKDu . | Photo Credit: C.V.Subrahmanyam more-in Indiscriminate use of drugs and antibiotics was seen among Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) patients of Uddanam region in Srikakulam district, according to the speakers at a seminar on “CKDu”, held at Pinnacle Hospitals here on Friday. The seminar was organised by the Visakhapatnam-based Institute of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (IBCB). Former Vice Chancellor of JNTU-K Allam Appa Rao said studies by the institute have revealed high incidence of CKDu at Jagathi village at 46.5 % and at Patha Varaka at 43.5% . Both the villages were located in Kaviti mandal in Srikakulam district. In Uddanam in eight villages, 30 to 40 % of the people were affected, 25 to 30 % were affected in nine villages and more than 18 % of the population was affected in 54 villages. Prof. Appa Rao called for greater research to arrive at the exact cause of the disease. Dr. Satish P. Ramachandra Rao, Director, Centre for Exosome Research, Trans-Disciplinary University, Bengaluru, gave a PowerPoint presentation on urinary exosomes. Triggering factor A post doctoral fellow from CCMB, Hyderabad, Sudhakar opined that there could be genetic predisposition to CKDu. He said indiscriminate use of drugs and antibiotics, without doctor’s prescription, was seen among the affected people in the Uddanam region and felt it could be a triggering factor for the disease. Professor from the Geo Engineering Department of Andhra University Jayashankar said there were a lot of cashew plantations around the Uddanam region and chemical residues from the excessive use of fertilisers on the cashew plants could be percolating into the ground and contaminating the groundwater in the region. He said the department was using remote sensing and GIS for the research. IBCB secretary Divakar said that IBCB was certified by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India, as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. The research interests of IBCB include: CDK u and cancer, diabetes and cognitive disorders. He said that the institute had organised five international conferences and six workshops on different themes. IBCB was using intensive computational methods and big data analytics to understand and tackle CKDu.

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