Roche Creates "The Amazing Kidnerellis!" Animation to Boost Public Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease on World Kidney Day

Basel, Switzerland (ots/PRNewswire) - The life-sustaining
activities of our kidneys tend to go unnoticed, until they falter or
fail. World Kidney Day (http://www.worldkidneyday.org) on March 13th
seeks to address this knowledge gap and to boost public awareness of
how vital kidney health is to the well-being of the body. As a
sponsor of World Kidney Day, Roche has created two interactive
web-based tools on the campaign website to help spread this year's
health message about the 'Amazing Kidneys'. A cartoon animation "The
Amazing Kidnerellis!" and an e-greetings card are designed to be
informative and fun.

"We know that people are more receptive to health information
when they hear it from family and friends, so we are very pleased
that Roche has created the e-greeting card to be able to reach the
community with a public health message that may prompt people to
check their risk factors for chronic kidney disease," said Philip
Springuel, Project Director of World Kidney Day.

World Kidney Day (WKD) is a joint initiative of the International
Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of
Kidney Foundations (IFKF). It is a worldwide effort to make more
people aware of chronic kidney disease (CKD) which, if detected
early, can be treated so reducing other potentially life threatening
health complications. Roche is a founding sponsor of WKD. The World
Kidney Day message is simple "kidney disease is common, harmful and
treatable". Early detection and prevention means that kidney disease
can be better managed and even curtailed.

The animation, set in a circus big top, introduces 'Luigi &
Rocco' - "The Amazing Kidnerellis!" These characters perform circus
style acts which help illustrate the important and amazing functions
of the kidneys. Descriptive text accompanying their activities will
be available in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French.
Visitors to the site can also send a personalised 'Amazing Kidneys!'
e-greeting card to family, friends and colleagues
(http://www.worldkidneyday.org/eCard/eCard.php) to spread the World
Kidney Day message globally.

"Roche hopes its ongoing support of World Kidney Day will raise
awareness of CKD as a global health issue," said Luke Miels,
Strategic Marketing Head, Metabolism & Anaemia at Roche. "The
resources we created are intended to help accomplish this goal."

Many people do not know, for example that one of the amazing acts
our two fist-sized kidneys perform everyday is to remove waste and
balance the fluids and minerals in the body. The kidneys do this by
filtering a massive 200 litres of blood (more than 1,000 cups of tea
or coffee) and extracting two litres of waste and excess water per
day. In addition, the kidneys produce essential hormones which drive
key functions such as control of blood pressure and the production of
red blood cells. The body needs red blood cells to deliver oxygen to
tissues and organs so that they can work properly.

When kidney function declines chronic kidney disease (CKD)
develops and the kidneys can no longer perform their amazing acts.
CKD almost always leads to complications such as cardiovascular
disease and anaemia. The prevalence of CKD is increasing; a recent
study showed that the rate has jumped from one in every 10 adults to
about one in every 7 to 8(1). Experts believe that this figure is
likely to rise even more due to high obesity rates since obesity,
diabetes and high blood pressure are all risk factors for CKD(2).

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's
leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of
pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world's biggest biotech
company and an innovator of products and services for the early
detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group
contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people's health
and quality of life. Additional information about the Roche Group is
available on the Internet at http://www.roche.com.

About WKD organisers

The partnership between the International Society of Nephrology
(http://www.isn-online.org) (ISN) and the International Federation of
Kidney Foundations (http://www.ifkf.net) (IFKF) - the co-organizers
of World Kidney Day - represents a strong alliance between kidney
health professionals and patient groups to bring global attention to
the prevention and treatment of kidney disease. The ISN is a
not-for-profit society whose mission is the global advancement of
nephrology. The IFKF, a not-for-profit Federation advocates worldwide
to improve the health, well-being and quality of life of individuals
with kidney disease; disseminates standards of best practice of
treatment and care; assists with the establishment of kidney
foundations in countries where they do not yet exist; facilitates
educational programs for its members; and promotes kidney disease
research.

References

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(1) http://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/newsitem.cfm?id=415
(accessed 11.24am GMT 28/01/08)

(2)Agnani S., Vachharajani V. T., Gupta R., Atray N.K. and
Vachharajani. T.J. Does treating obesity stabilize chronic kidney
disease? 2005. BMC Nephrology 6:7doi:10.1186/1471-2369-6-7

ots Originaltext: Roche Pharmaceuticals
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Sheila Kolesaire at Roche, Tel:+973-235-4347, Mobile:+973-687-0188;
Diane Lorton at Galliard, Tel: +44(0)207-663-2265,
Mobile:+44(0)7717-531-823; Angela Guillemet for WKD, Mobile:
+353-863-11-40-67