Scientists May Have Found a Way to Heal Damaged Kidneys

Kidneys can recover after some injuries, but severe damage often leaves scar tissue and reduced function instead of complete regeneration. UCLA researchers have now identified a protein that appears to help create that failure of repair.

Their experimental drug improved kidney recovery in mice by blocking the protein, known as ENPP1. The finding is promising, but it is not yet a treatment for people with kidney disease, and no human kidney trial has begun.