The first annual international conference on kidney diseases ended its deliberations here today. More than 120 working papers on diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases were discussed at the conference which was attended by more than 650 delegates from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and foreign countries including Canada, Belgium, Italy, Britain, the US, Egypt, Kuwait, the Untied Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as consultants of kidney diseases from a number of Saudi hospitals and universities. The participants of the conference underlined the importance of social awareness and clarifying dangers of obesity, blood pressure and cholesterol on persons suffering from kidney diseases. The conference underscored the importance of conducting researches on causes of kidney diseases and means of preventing kidney and liver inflammations. Dr Saeed al-Ghamdi, the director of kidney unit at Jeddah-based King Faisal specialist hospital and research center, said about 8000 persons are suffering from kidney problems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A study conducted by the Saudi center for organs transplantation said more than 17 percent of the Saudis are diabetics.
