Kidney

PURPOSE: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory disease of the central nervous system that involves different neurological areas. In addition to lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), sexual dysfunction (SD), and psychopathological effects, MS sometimes seriously impairs the quality of life (QoL). We hypothesize that the pelvic floor exercise program (PFEP) could improve bladder, sexual function, depression, and QoL in MS patients. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with MS completed the Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-SF), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQoL-54) questionnaire, and either the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) or the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM)...

BACKGROUND: Complement activation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). We aimed to evaluate the relationship between mesangial C3 deposition and histologic lesions and to investigate the role of mesangial C3 deposition and serum C3 reduction in predicting renal outcome in IgAN children. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study in children with biopsy-proven IgAN. Mesangial C3 deposition (< 2+ vs. ≥ 2+) was detected by the immunofluorescence...

BACKGROUND: Short stature is a frequent complication after pediatric kidney transplantation (KT). Whether the type of transplantation and prior treatment with recombinant human growth hormone (GH) affects post-transplant growth, is unclear. METHODS: Body height, leg length, sitting height, and sitting height index (as a measure of body proportions) were prospectively investigated in 148 prepubertal patients enrolled in the CKD Growth and Development study with a median follow-up of 5...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

INTRODUCTION: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has been shown to facilitate discharge, decrease length of stay, improve outcomes and reduce costs. We used this concept to design a comprehensive fast-track pathway (OR-to-discharge) before starting our liver transplant activity and then applied this protocol prospectively to every patient undergoing liver transplantation at our institution, monitoring the results periodically. We now report our first six years results. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective cohort study of all the liver transplants performed at our institution for the first six years...

Not only in kidney glomerular physiological function but also glomerular pathology especially in diabetic condition, glomerular podocytes play pivotal roles. Therefore, it is important to increase our knowledge about the genes and proteins expressed in podocytes. Recently, we have identified a novel podocyte-expressed gene, R3h domain containing-like (R3hdml) and analyzed its function in vivo as well as in vitro. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling regulated the expression of R3hdml. And R3hdml inhibited p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation, which was induced by TGF-β, leading to the amelioration of podocyte apoptosis...

During Medieval and Renaissance times up to the 19th century hagiotherapy was a common part of many different health offerings in society. Within the field of urology, kidney stone disease and venereal (sexually transmitted) diseases were the favourite subjects. Even today, the names of St. Libory, St. Roche, St. Apollinaire and St. Dionysius are common within the culture of remembrance in Europe and the USA.

It is no exaggeration to state that the ICD has been one of the best examples of international collaboration in developing an authoritative tool in the service of medical discourse worldwide. It has endowed the language of medicine with a uniformity that is deficient or lacking in other disciplines. Much as the categories of diseases listed in the ICD in general have increased so have those used in the language of nephrology used today (Fig. 2). And, much as it can be fairly assumed that the categories listed in future versions of ICD will increase, it can be assumed that the terminology of renal diseases will be modified and expanded as new knowledge on kidney function and disease accrues...

Vascular and valvular calcifications are highly prevalent in kidney transplant recipients and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, which represent the leading cause of long-term mortality in these patients. However, cardiovascular calcification has been traditionally considered as a condition mostly associated with advanced chronic kidney disease stages and dialysis, and comparatively fewer studies have assessed its impact after kidney transplantation. Despite partial or complete resolution of uremia-associated metabolic derangements, kidney transplant recipients are still exposed to several pro-calcifying stimuli that favour the progression of pre-existing vascular calcifications or their de novo development...

The use of lateral thoracotomy (LT) for implanting left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) is worldwide increasing, although the available evidence for its positive effects compared with conventional sternotomy (CS) is limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis analyzes the outcomes of LT compared with CS in patients undergoing implantation of a centrifugal continuous-flow LVAD. Four databases and 1,053 publications were screened until December 2019. Articles including patients undergoing implantation of a centrifugal continuous-flow LVAD through LT were included...

Phosphorene, also known as black phosphorus (BP), is a two-dimensional (2D) material that has gained significant attention in several areas of current research. Its unique properties such as outstanding surface activity, an adjustable bandgap width, favorable on/off current ratios, infrared-light responsiveness, good biocompatibility, and fast biodegradation differentiate this material from other two-dimensional materials. The application of BP in the biomedical field has been rapidly emerging over the past few years...

Background The female preponderance in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a distinguishing feature of this disorder, but the association of sex with degree of diastolic dysfunction and clinical outcomes among individuals with HFpEF remains unclear. Methods and Results We conducted a prospective, multicenter, observational study of patients with HFpEF (PURSUIT-HFpEF [Prospective Multicenter Observational Study of Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction]: UMIN000021831)...

Cutaneous squamous cell skin carcinoma (cSCC) is the most common skin cancer in renal transplant recipients (RTR). Metastatic potential of cSCC is significantly higher in RTR than in the general population. Parotid metastases (PM) of cSCC are rare, but their prognosis is poor. The present study aimed to investigate the frequency and characteristics of PM of cSCC in our renal transplant cohort. Among 1610 patients who received kidney allografts at our institution in the period from January 1999 to December 2019, 84 patients (5,2%) developed at least one cSCC...

BACKGROUND: To compare the clinical outcomes of laparoscopic pyelolithotomy (LP) and retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) in the management of large renal pelvic stones. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study included patients who presented with a single renal pelvic stone sized ≥20 mm and who were treated primarily by LP or RIRS. The patients were grouped based on the surgical procedure they underwent. We retrospectively examined and compared the age, the longest axis and the surface area of the stone, operation time, hospitalization time, complications and stone-free rates of the two groups...

INTRODUCTION: Liver transplantation (LT) is a life-saving treatment for end-stage liver disease patients that requires significant resources. We used national data to evaluate LT outcomes and factors associated with hospital resource use. METHODS: Using the National Inpatient Sample, we identified all patients undergoing LT from 2009-2017 and defined High Resource Use (HRU) as having costs ≥90th percentile. Hierarchical regression models were used to assess factors associated with length of stay (LOS) and HRU...

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to describe the bone metabolism status that underlies a hip fracture. METHODS: Estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), total (ALP) and bone specific alkaline phosphatase (b-ALP), intact parathyroid hormone (i-PTH), 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25OHD), total procollagen type I amino-terminal propeptide (PINP), and N-terminal peptide of collagen I (NTx), measured at admission in 272 hip fracture patients, were ex post analyzed by K-means clustering and principal component analysis and were evaluated by a clinician...

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (SjS) is a systemic autoimmune disease most commonly diagnosed in middle-aged women. Although the disease can occur at all ages, it is diagnosed between 30 and 60 years of age in two-thirds of patients. In more than 20% of cases, the people are older than 65 years. In this review, we focus on the therapeutic management of primary SjS in older patients, following the recently published 2020 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for the management of the disease with topical and systemic therapies...