Don't Miss a Beat: Understanding GFR Slope, with Brendon Neuen, MBBS, MSc

The focus on the relationship between cardiovascular and nephrotic conditions has never been greater in the history of either field than it is now. As the field of cardiorenal metabolism began to grow in recent years, revelations of the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors in both heart failure and chronic kidney disease added further excitement and interest to the emerging field.

This heightened interest in nephrology has led to a push for new end points to assess the effects of treatments through the various stages of chronic kidney disease progression. As a result of this, GFR slope rose to prominence after multiple studies found use as a surrogate end point could allow trialists to better capture effects of therapies on chronic kidney disease progression, particularly in larger, long-term trials. Although use of the surrogate end point has increased in popularity sharply since debuting in 2019, a more recent commentary published in the New England Journal of Medicine has detailed concerns among clinicians over the reliability of GFR slope as an outcome measure.

In the latest edition of Don’t Miss a Beat, hosts Stephen Greene, MD, of Duke University School of Medicine, and Muthiah Vaduganathan, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, are joined by special guest Brendon Neuen, MBBS, MSc, an academic nephrology registrar at the George Institute of Global Health. A trialist currently contributing to the FIND-CKD trial, Neuen takes Vaduganathan and Greene on a deep dive into the use of GFR slope as an end point in clinical trials and as a tool in clinical practice.

All episodes of Don’t Miss a Beat are available in an audio-only format on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.