Clinic Nephrology

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature investigating the relationship between use of diuretics and the risk of gouty arthritis. METHODS: PubMed (1950-October 2009), Embase (1974-October 2009), and the Cochrane Library (up to October 2009) were searched using keywords and MeSH terms diuretics, adverse effects, and gout. For this review, the technique of "best evidence synthesis" was used. Studies reporting frequency, absolute or relative risks, odds ratio, or rate ratio of gouty arthritis in diuretic users compared with nonusers were selected and evaluated...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To assess the role of diuretics in acute kidney injury (AKI) and their effectiveness in preventing AKI, achieving fluid balance, and decreasing progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). RECENT FINDINGS: Diuretics are associated with increased risk for AKI. The theoretical advantage of diuretic-induced preservation of renal medullary oxygenation to prevent AKI has not been proven. A higher cumulative diuretic dose during the dialysis period can cause hypotension and increase mortality in a dose-dependent manner...

There are numerous reports of thiazide-induced hyponatraemia (TIH) and its incidence is growing as a result of increasing prescription after guidelines recommending thiazides as first-line treatment of essential hypertension have been introduced. Thiazide diuretics are a common cause of severe hyponatraemia that is usually induced within two weeks of starting the thiazide diuretic, but it can occur any time and very rapidly in susceptible patients. Despite several relevant reports and years of clinical experience, TIH remains a very common clinical scenario...

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Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is defined as the occurrence of renal dysfunction in a patient with end-stage liver cirrhosis in the absence of another identifiable cause of renal failure. The prognosis of HRS remains poor, with a median survival without liver transplantation of <6 months. However, understanding the pathogenesis of HRS has led to the introduction of treatments designed to increase renal perfusion and mean arterial blood pressure using vasopressors and albumin, which has led to improvement in renal function in ∼50% of patients...

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) describes both a common lesion in progressive kidney disease, and a disease characterized by marked proteinuria and podocyte injury. The initial injuries vary widely. Monogenetic forms of FSGS are largely due to alterations in structural genes of the podocyte, many of which result in early onset of disease. Genetic risk alleles in apolipoprotein L1 are especially prevalent in African Americans, and are linked not only to adult-onset FSGS but also to progression of some other kidney diseases...

'Membranoproliferative' describes glomerular injury characterized by capillary wall thickening and mesangial expansion owing to increased matrix deposition and hypercellularity. The presence of immune deposits is indicative of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN). Historically, MPGN was further classified into three types according to the appearance and site of the electron-dense deposits seen by electron microscopy, but it is now recognized that many cases show only deposition of the complement component C3, owing to abnormal control of the alternative pathway of complement activation-these cases are now classified as C3 glomerulopathies...

Autophagy degrades pathogens, altered organelles and protein aggregates, and is characterized by the sequestration of cytoplasmic cargos within double-membrane-limited vesicles called autophagosomes. The process is regulated by inputs from the cellular microenvironment, and is activated in response to nutrient scarcity and immune triggers, which signal through a complex molecular network. Activation of autophagy leads to the formation of an isolation membrane, recognition of cytoplasmic cargos, expansion of the autophagosomal membrane, fusion with lysosomes and degradation of the autophagosome and its contents...

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A new study shows that statin therapy before diagnosis of diabetes mellitus is not associated with an increased risk of microvascular disease and might even be beneficial for retinopathy and neuropathy. These data suggest a potential protective effect of statins in specific complications, which should be further investigated in randomized controlled trials.

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BACKGROUND: The prevalence and incidence of kidney stone disease have increased markedly during the past several decades, and studies have demonstrated that inappropriate dietary habits are leading to more obesity and overweight (OW) in children and adults, which may be important in stone formation. Obese and OW patients share most of the same risk factors for cardiovascular morbidity, while the impact of being OW, rather than obese, on urinary metabolic parameters of kidney stone formers (KSF) is less well known...

FDA approval of the first device to use novel biomarkers of kidney damage to assess risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) potentially brings forward diagnosis of moderate-to-severe AKI to a time frame that could enable early intervention. Although the device awaits greater scrutiny, its approval marks the beginning of a new era.

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Traditional strategies for management of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have not resulted in any change in the growing prevalence of CKD worldwide. A historic belief that eating healthily might ameliorate kidney disease still holds credibility in the 21(st) century. Dietary sodium restriction to <2.3 g daily, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and increased water consumption corresponding to a urine output of 3-4 l daily might slow the progression of early CKD, polycystic kidney disease or recurrent kidney stones...

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Renal dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages represent a constitutive, extensive and contiguous network of innate immune cells that provide sentinel and immune-intelligence activity; they induce and regulate inflammatory responses to freely filtered antigenic material and protect the kidney from infection. Tissue-resident or infiltrating DCs and macrophages are key factors in the initiation and propagation of renal disease, as well as essential contributors to subsequent tissue regeneration, regardless of the aetiological and pathogenetic mechanisms...

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