Set-up of a Platform for Personalized Diagnosis of Rare Kidney Diseases (NIKE)

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health problem, with steadily increasing incidence and prevalence and the threat of a true "epidemic". Converging evidence suggests a high prevalence of genetic etiology in rare kidney diseases and the list of new disease-causing genes is constantly updated. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have prompted a significant improvement in the diagnosis of rare kidney diseases. Notwithstanding this, NGS generates high numbers of information that need to be properly analysed by the joint efforts of geneticists, nephrologists and bioinformatics in order to integrate clinical and genetic information in a personalized manner. In addition, in selected cases, the contribution of researchers proves essential for the development of experimental models of the disease to study and understand the pathogenic features and propose a personalized therapeutic approach. Such an innovative, integrated diagnostic paradigm is currently available in few centers all over the world and cannot be easily translated in daily clinical practice. The aim of the study is to set-up an integrated diagnostic algorithm to extend the newest personalized diagnostic and treatment strategies for rare kidney diseases to all patients in the Tuscany region, under 40 years of age with kidney disease. This algorithm will be based on a constant cross-talk between participating centers and a dedicated multidisciplinary team. Diagnostic and therapeutic performances will be validated at European level.