What this trial measures

• Correspondence of MRI measures with clinical metrics (i.e. eGFR) and routinely assessed cognitive functions from CKD and ESRD patients.up to three years

  MRI measures will be evaluated both globally and regionally (e.g. frontal lobe and the hippocampus of the brain, renal cortex and medulla in each and both kidneys). The correlations among MRI measurements, the degree of CKD disease (as evaluated by eGFR) and the severity of cognitive impairment will be assessed using both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Non-parametric analysis approach will be used instead of parametric if appropriate.

• The potential of MRI methods in the evaluation of post-transplant kidneys.Up to three years

  For each region in kidneys (renal cortex and medulla), each MRI measurement from the cross-sectional studies of transplant recipients with stable renal functional will be correlated to the levels of transplant kidney function (e.g. eGFR). Imaging results from transplant recipients with unstable renal function will be compared between patients with and without diagnosed acute rejection, and before and after the acute rejection treatment for patients with positive response. Note: For both outcomes, multi-parametric MRI measurements will be used in the evaluation, including but not limited to MRI relaxation times, blood flow and diffusion.