The health of the kidneys and the liver are intertwined. Several liver diseases, such as cirrhosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatitis, can result in kidney diseases. Acute renal failure occurs relatively often among patients with liver cirrhosis, for example, and approximately 20% of patients hospitalized with cirrhosis develop acute renal failure, according to a review of the overlap between liver and kidney disease published last year in the Cell Journal . Ischemia and reperfusion, cytokine release and pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, metabolic acidosis, oxidative stress and altered enzyme activity and metabolic pathways are the basis for “crosstalk” between liver and kidney health, according to the review.

Hospitalized patients who also have acute kidney injury (AK

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