European journal of clinical investigation
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Dec 2008
Clinical correlates of blood serotonin levels in patients with mastocytosis.
Mastocytosis is a clonal disorder associated with an increased mast cell burden. We have recently demonstrated the ability of human mast cells to express and be activated through multiple serotonin receptors; to synthesize and release serotonin; and that mastocytosis patients may have abnormal serotonin levels. As serotonin has been implicated in the genesis of clinical symptoms found in association with some chronic diseases, we have now determined the whole blood serotonin levels in 29 patients diagnosed with mastocytosis, and correlated these levels with multiple clinical and laboratory parameters. ⋯ Our study suggests that low blood serotonin levels help define a sub-group of patients with mastocytosis that are more likely to present with neurological and gastrointestinal complaints, and suggests that the use of pharmacologic agents that alter blood serotonin levels could be explored in selected patients.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Oct 2008
ReviewAsymptomatic bacteriuria and symptomatic urinary tract infections in pregnancy.
Symptomatic and asymptomatic bacteriuria is common in pregnant women. A history of previous urinary tract infections and low socioeconomic status are risk factors for bacteriuria in pregnancy. Escherichia coli is the most common aetiologic agent in both symptomatic and asymptomatic infection and quantitative culture is the gold standard for diagnosis. ⋯ Debate exists in the literature as to whether treated pyelonephritis is associated with adverse fetal outcomes. There is no clear consensus in the literature on antibiotic choice or duration of therapy for infection. With increasing antibiotic resistance, consideration of local resistance rates is necessary when choosing therapy.
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Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common in renal transplant recipients. Frequency of UTIs depend on many factors such as age, female gender, kidney function, co-morbidity, type and amount of immunosuppression, urological instrumentation and/or the follow-up period (short term or long term) after kidney transplantation. UTI may worsen graft and patient survival. ⋯ Renal transplant recipients with UTIs are often clinically asymptomatic as a consequence of immunosuppression. UTI, however, may progress to APN (particularly in the early post-transplant period), bacteraemia and the full blown picture of urosepsis. Strategies for long term prophylaxis and antimicrobial treatment of UTI in renal transplant recipients are discussed.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Oct 2008
Breath analysis in patients with end-stage renal disease: effect of haemodialysis.
There is no agreement about exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) and its change after haemodialysis (HD) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. To comprehensively assess NO production in the respiratory system, NO metabolites in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) needs to be measured in addition to FE(NO), taking into account the influence on these markers of airway pH, which may be regulated by ammonia (NH3+), present in large amounts in the breath of ESRD patients and removed by HD. ⋯ Oxidative stress, and not EBC-pH, is the most probable cause of increased NO metabolites in ESRD patients before HD.
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Acute renal failure is a grave complication of systemic gram-negative sepsis. The pathophysiological mechanisms of sepsis leading to kidney injury result in part from systemic inflammatory and haemodynamic alterations. ⋯ Furthermore, it was demonstrated that systemic endotoxin has direct access to renal sites where these receptors are expressed. Therefore, we review data in support of this novel pathway of renal injury in sepsis, whereby systemic endotoxin causes direct injury through interactions with local epithelial and endothelial TLR4.