Howard Trachtman, MD trachtma@nshs.edu

Specializing in pediatric nephrology, Dr. Trachtman studies two conditions - focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) – that can damage the kidneys. With the incidence of FSGS on the rise in the United States, and no effective treatment, Dr. Trachtman is involved with federally-sponsored clinical studies of two experimental treatment regimens -- a national randomized controlled clinical trial comparing cyclosporine with mycophenolate mofetil and dexamethasone, and another study to see whether antifibrotic agents can be used to slow the progression of kidney disease in patients with FSGS.
 
In particular, Dr. Trachtman is testing the effectiveness of a monoclonal antibody adalimulab (Humira) and rosiglitazone (Avandia) as part of a first step in developing novel therapies for FSGS that could reduce renal scarring and protect against kidney damage that is common among patients. Dr. Trachtman works with University of North Carolina’s Debbie Gipson, MD, on the Novel Therapies for Resistant FSGS study. He is also part a federal grant to establish an International Registry and Biorepository for children with Thrombotic Microangiopathy. This includes pediatric patients with severe diarrhea associated HUS, non-familial atypical HUS and familial atypical HUS. The registry involves seven centers across the United States and doctors will test the feasibility of a web-based data entry system. The researchers are collecting tissue samples for a biorepository that will be housed at the Feinstein Institute.
  
Dr Trachtman is now collaborating with clinicians to expand the registry across the entire US and in Europe. He works with biostatistician Avital Cnaan, PhD, of the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, and Giuseppe Remuzzi, MD, Director of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Italy.

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Lab Members:

Name:   Catherine Hoffman
Position:   Coordinator for Thrombotic Microangiopathy (TMA) Registry
E-mail:   choffman@nshs.edu

Name:   Suzanne Vento
Position:   Coordinator for Focal Novel Therapies (FONT) for FSGS
E-mail:   svento@lij.edu