AFiRM Study Participant Newsletter - Spring 2025
In this latest update from the AFiRM study team, view the first results from the MRI scans and our findings.
Study Progress
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All participants have completed study visits at year one, and over half have completed visits at year two.
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202 participants have had their second MRI scan
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42 participants have had biopsy samples, or images, shared with the team at University of Birmingham for staining and further analysis.
Why is the second MRI scan important?
The second MRI scan is a unique aspect of AFiRM and will help us gauge how kidney disease evolves over time. Most previous research has only performed MRI at one time. This will provide important information to help us monitor kidney health to make sure we can detect changes important to patients.
If you need help getting to the second MRI scan, remember that the study can cover your travel expenses.
What does the baseline data tell us?
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The very first results that have come from the MRI scans in AFiRM are to do with size and appearance of kidneys.
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A technique called ‘radiomics’ allows the MRI images to be analysed to measure 45 features relating to kidney size including kidney volumes, length, surface area and number of cysts.
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Our first results describe the relationship of these MRI features to the cause and severity of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
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This initial analysis will allow us to assess if these MRI radiomics measures will help in more complex analyses in future to assess individuals’ risk and progression of CKD.
All baseline MRI scans used for this analysis
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218 participants had their primary renal diagnosis based on a kidney biopsy
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The average age of participants is 55
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36% of participants are female, 64% are male
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The average estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 42.7
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Causes of chronic kidney disease among participants
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Glomerular Disease — 42%
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Unknown cause — 19%
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Diabetic Kidney Disease — 14%
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Tubular Disease — 12%
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Ischaemic Nephropathy — 5%
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Other — 8%
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Results
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The study team were able to see that several MRI shape and volume features differed depending on the cause of CKD, and the degree to which kidney function is reduced.
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For instance, CKD due to diabetes has higher kidney volumes and other measures relating to kidney size. More severe CKD (lower eGFR) had smaller kidneys and more cysts.
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The picture below shows an example MRI scan, and the dark red area is showing how the computer analysis programme can automatically detect the kidneys from the MRI images.
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The graph below shows that kidney volume (shown on the vertical access) tends to be smaller at lower levels of kidney function (eGFR, shown on the horizontal access).
These results show that there is potential to use these MRI measures in more complex analyses to work out which patterns of CKD are at increased risk of getting worse over time.
The study team is currently working on analysing the baseline MRI scans to assess other aspects of kidney function and structure, as well as working out how the MRI results can help improve care patients with kidney disease.
We are going to present these initial results at two conferences in June: the national UK Kidney Conference in Bournemouth, and the European Renal Association conference in Vienna.
Thank you for taking part – this important research is made possible because of your participation.
If you have any questions or queries speak to your research team or contact the AFiRM study team at: uhdb.afirmstudy@nhs.net