Kidney international
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Kidney international · Sep 2005
Factors associated with "do not resuscitate" orders and rates of withdrawal from hemodialysis in the international DOPPS.
Worldwide statistics on practice patterns regarding "do not resuscitate" (DNR) orders and patient withdrawal from hemodialysis have not been uniformly collected or analyzed. ⋯ The higher prevalence of DNR and rate of withdrawal from hemodialysis in the United States are consistent with its greater legal and cultural emphasis on patient autonomy. By showing characteristics associated with these outcomes, this study contributes to our understanding of why hemodialysis patients request DNR or withdraw from treatment.
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Kidney international · Sep 2005
MAPK/AP-1-dependent regulation of PAI-1 gene expression by TGF-beta in rat mesangial cells.
Receptor-regulated Smads and/or mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are involved in transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-induced expression of various genes, including plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Because the sequence of the promoter region in rat PAI-1 gene differs from that in the human gene, we examined the mechanisms of TGF-beta-induced rat PAI-1 expression in rat mesangial cells. ⋯ These results suggest that the essential requirement of MAPK/AP-1 activation for TGF-beta1-induced PAI-1 expression is unique to rat mesangial cells.