Patients' representations of their end-stage renal disease: relation with mortality.

Background: Self-regulation theory explains how patients' illness perceptions influence self-management behaviour (e.g. via adherence to treatment).

Immunosuppression should be stopped in patients with renal allograft failure.

Patients returning to haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis after a failed kidney transplantation sometimes have a renal allograft left in situ for some urine production. Low-dose immunosuppressive medication is often continued in such patients. To evaluate the morbidity and mortality between patients in time periods with (group A) or without (group B) low-dose maintenance immunosuppression, the present study was initiated.

Renal haemodynamics and sodium excretory capacity during urapidil treatment in patients with essential hypertension.

Objective: Since renal sympathetic nerves are involved in the regulation of sodium excretion, we investigated whether treatment with urapidil, an alpha1-adrenoceptor blocking agent which also lowers sympathetic activity, alters sodium excretory capacity in patients with essential hypertension.

Design: A double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study.

Methods: Studies were carried out in 26 patients who were randomized to treatment with either placebo or urapidil for 8 weeks.

Pharmacokinetics of temocapril and temocaprilat after 14 once daily oral doses of temocapril in hypertensive patients with varying degrees of renal impairment.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the potential influence of renal impairment on the pharmacokinetics of temocapril and its pharmacologically active diacid metabolite, temocaprilat.

Methods: Non-compartmental pharmacokinetics were assessed in four groups of hypertensive patients (n=8 per group, four investigational centres) with normal (creatinine clearance determined via 24 h urine sampling, CL[CR], > or = 60 ml min-1) and impaired renal function (CL[CR] 40-59, 20-39, < 20 ml min-1) after 14 once daily oral doses of 10 mg temocapril hydrochloride.

Results: For temocapril, there were no statistically significant differences in median tmax or mean Cmax, AUC(SS), t1/2,Z, CL/F between the four groups.

Natriuretic effect of nitrendipine is preceded by transient systemic and renal hemodynamic effects.

This study investigated whether the acute natriuretic effect of nitrendipine is related to its initial renal hemodynamic effects. We investigated 16 patients (10 men and 6 women, mean age 52 +/- 2 years) with essential hypertension, whose treatment, if any, was stopped 3 weeks before the study. They were admitted to a metabolic ward for 9 days and kept on a constant sodium diet of 55 mmol/day.