Subspecialty	Nephrology
Clinical Interests	Hypertension
	Kidney Disease
	Kidney Stones
	Hemodialysis
	Hepatitis C
Languages	English
	Spanish
	Italian
Gender	Male
E-mail	joseph.vassalotti@mssm.edu
Education and Training	MD, S.U.N.Y., Stony Brook
	Residency, Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital
	Fellowship, Renal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital
	Fellowship, Renal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital
Awards	1985 Cum Laude Hofstra University

Curriculum Vitae: Curriculum Vitae

Education and Training	MD, S.U.N.Y., Stony Brook
	Residency, Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital
	Fellowship, Renal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital
	Fellowship, Renal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital
Board Certification	Nephrology

Subspecialty	Nephrology
Clinical Interests	Hypertension
	Kidney Disease
	Kidney Stones
	Hemodialysis
	Hepatitis C
Languages	English
	Spanish
	Italian
Board Certification	Nephrology

NIH Sponsored Frequent Hemodialysis Clinical Trial

In the NIH sponsored HEMO Study a higher dose of dialysis given three times per week did not reduce mortality or the combined secondary outcomes of first hospitalization or death. Hence, with respect to administering dialysis three times per week there is no solid evidence that higher dose will improve outcomes. Preliminary uncontrolled data support improved blood pressure control and qulaity of life with frequent hemodialysis. This trial will randomize patients to frequent hemodiaysis administered six days per week or standard three -times weekly treatment. Elegant urea kinetics will be performed to ensure that the delivered hemodialysis dose, measured as equilibrated Kt/v, will be identical in the frequent and conventional treatment groups. The purpose of this phase of the study is to determine an appropriate protocol to expand to a larger clinical trial.

Hemodialysis Vascular Access

The aims are to foster AV fistula use, limit chronic catheter use, and maintain access patency. Several recent studies implicate catheters as an important cause of increased morbidity and odds-adjusted mortality particularly for infection. A multidisciplinary approach to hemodialysis access including nephrology, interventional radiology, vascular surgery, and nursing was initiated in 1998 at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. A variety of techniques to achieve the aims are being studied including Doppler Ultrasound Vein Screening, prospective Chronic Kidney Disease patient education, and prospective screening to detect Dialysis Access "Steal Sydnrome" or Distal Extremity Ischemia.

A randomized trial of pegylated interferon (peg-Intron) in Hepatitis C (HCV) infected End Stage Renal Disease patients treated with chronic hemodialysis

Patients undergoing hemodialysis have a higher prevalence of anti-HCV than the general population, the average ranging from 5 percent to 44 percent in United States dialysis units, depending on the prevalence of risk factors in the ESRD population. Kidney transplant recipients with HCV have an increased risk of mortality and chronic liver disease compared to those transplanted without HCV. Antiviral therapy of the ESRD patient may improve the outcome of subsequent renal transplantation. The safety and efficacy of two pegylated interferon regimens, 1.0 ug/kg vs. 0.5 ug/kg weekly, will be investigated in enrolled treatment-nave subjects as part of a multicenter study.

Thamer M, Chan JK, Ray NF, Vassalotti J, Kimmel PL. Drug Use Concomitant with Cyclosporin Immunosuppressive Therapy for 3 Years After Renal Transplantation. Am J Kidney Dis 1998; 31: 283-292.

Sedlacek M, Teodorescu V, Falk A, Vassalotti JA, Uribarri J. Hemodialysis access placement with preoperative noninvasive vascular mapping: comparison between patients with and without diabetes. Am J Kidney Dis 2001; 38: 560-564.

Falk A, Mitty H, Guller J, Teodorescu V, Uribarri J, Vassalotti J. Thrombolysis of clotted hemodialysis grafts with tissue-type plasminogen activator. J Vasc Interv Radiol 2001; 12: 305-311.

Falk A, Guller J, Nowakowski FS, Mitty H, Teodorescu V, Uribarri J, Vassalotti J. Reteplase in the treatment of thrombosed hemodialysis grafts. J Vasc Interv Radiol 2001; 12: 1257-1262.

Vassalotti JA. Does time of day of hemodialysis affect survival?. JAMA 2002 Mar; 287(10): 1262-1264.

Vassalotti JA, Falk A, Cohl ED, Uribarri J, Uribarri J, Teodorescu V. Obese and non-obese hemodialysis patients have a similar prevalence of functioning arteriovenous fistula using pre-operative vein mapping. Clin Nephrol 2002; 58: 211-214.

Vassalotti JA. How Can the Use of AV Fistulae be Increased?. Semin Dialysis 2003; 19: 221-223.

Uribarri J, Peppa M, Cai W, Goldberg T, Lu M, Baliga S, Vassalotti J, Vlassara H. Dietary glycotoxins correlate with circulating advanced glycation end product levels in renal failure patients. Am J Kidney Dis 2003 Sep; 42(3): 532-538.

Falk A, Teodorescu V, Lou WY, Uribarri J, Vassalotti JA. Treatment of 'swing point stenoses' in hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulae. Clin Nephrol 2003 Jul; 60(1): 35-41.

Vassalotti JA, Falk A, Teodorescu V, Uribarri J. The Multidisciplinary approach to hemodialysis vascular access at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Mt Sinai J Med 2004; 71: 94-102.

Vassalotti J. What is a 'swing point' stenosis?. Semin Dialysis 2004 17:239.

Falk A, Samson W, Uribarri J, Vassalotti JA. Efficacy of reteplase in poorly functioning hemodialysis catheter. Clin Nephrol 2004 Jan; 61(1): 47-53.