Journal of nephrology
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The clinical spectrum of monogenic renal diseases is wide ranging, from autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease to very rare inherited disorders. The genes involved in most of these diseases have been identified. ⋯ The challenges of the future will be to understand phenotypic variability and the molecular mechanisms of disease, and to design pharmacological tools to stop or retard its progression. The post-gene era has begun and the field of research in monogenic disorders is wide open.
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Journal of nephrology · Sep 2002
Review Comparative StudyDo non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and COX-2 selective inhibitors have different renal effects?
The main mechanism of action of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX), the enzyme involved in prostaglandin synthesis. NSAID nephrotoxicity is linked to this, since prostaglandins act not only in response to inflammatory stimuli, but also as modulators of physiological functions. When blood volume is compromised, prostaglandins play a role in the renal circulation including vasodilatation, renin secretion, and sodium and water excretion. ⋯ In the kidney, "constitutive" expression has been demonstrated for both isoforms. COX-2 inhibitor drugs, such as NSAIDs, reduce sodium excretion, and may cause acute renal failure in patients in whom the maintenance of adequate renal perfusion is "prostaglandin-dependent". Therefore, COX-2 inhibitors, like other NSAIDs, must be used cautiously or not at all in patients with predisposing diseases.
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Journal of nephrology · Jul 2002
Review Case ReportsMetformin-associated lactic acidosis: case reports and literature review.
Lactic acidosis is a widely recognized, though rare, side effect of metformin. This paper describes five patients admitted to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from 1 September 1998 to 31 May 2001 suffering severe lactic acidosis caused by metformin, and reviews the literature. ⋯ Lactic acidosis is a serious reaction to metformin, and hemodialysis (the treatment of choice) should be done urgently to prevent serious complications. MALA should be suspected in patients presenting with wide anion gap metabolic acidosis and high blood lactate, even when they are non-diabetic.
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Journal of nephrology · May 2002
Differential diagnosis of bacterial infection and inflammatory response in kidney diseases using procalcitonin.
Early diagnosis of bacterial infection in renal patients remains difficult. Common laboratory parameters, such as white blood cell (WBC) count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein (CRP) may be affected by the underlying disease, uremia or its extracorporeal treatment, or by immunosuppressive drugs. Procalcitonin (PCT) may be useful for the detection of systemic bacterial infections in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing renal replacement therapy, but elevated PCT concentrations have also been found in a significant number of uremic patients without signs of infection. ⋯ Our data indicate that PCT levels are not significantly affected by loss of renal function, immunosuppressive agents or autoimmune disorders. Thus, significantly elevated PCT concentrations offer good sensitivity and specificity for the early diagnosis of systemic bacterial infection in patients with CRF or patients with ESRD treated by HD. CRP concentrations may be useful indicators for inflammation in patients with renal diseases, but have low specificity for the diagnosis of bacterial infection.
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Journal of nephrology · Mar 2002
Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration improves hemodynamics in septic shock with acute renal failure without modifying TNFalpha and IL6 plasma concentrations.
Continuous hemofiltration improves hemodynamics in critically ill patients by removing cytokines from the plasma. The mechanism, however, remains to be clarified since recent studies show conflicting findings. The present study was therefore designed to evaluate hemodynamic changes and kinetics of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha, interleukin (IL)1beta and IL6 in patients with septic shock and acute renal failure (ARF) undergoing continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CWHF), over a 24-hour period. ⋯ In patients with septic shock and ARF, CVVHF improves mean arterial pressure and systemic vascular resistance. This effect does not appear to be related to the removal of cytokines. The effect of CVVHF on mortality and morbidity in the long term, in septic shock has still to be established.