Assessment of combined α-GAL enzyme activity and lyso-GL3 for Fabry disease screening in women with chronic kidney disease.

Introduction: The spectrum of clinical presentation of Fabry disease (FD) in women is broad and challenging. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of an alternative screening method for FD in women.

Methods: A collaborative multicenter cross-sectional study to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the combination of two tests (α-GAL enzyme activity assay and lyso-GL3 assay) for the diagnosis of FD in women.

Effect of spironolactone on the progression of coronary calcification in peritoneal dialysis patients: a pilot study.

Introduction: There is evidence that aldosterone plays a role in the pathogenesis of vascular calcification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of spironolactone, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, on the progression of coronary calcification (CC) in peritoneal dialysis patients and to identify the factors involved in this progression.

Methods: Thirty-three patients with a coronary calcium score (CCS) ≥ 30, detected through multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) and expressed in Agatston units, were randomly assigned to a group receiving 25mg spironolactone per day for 12 months (spironolactone group) and a control group not receiving this drug.

Cardiac evaluation of patients with chronic kidney disease: what lessons?

Introduction: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experiment a synergistic effect of the traditional and the emerging uremia-related risk factors for atherosclerosis.

Objective: Draw the epidemiologic profile of a group of CKD patients who underwent cardiac evaluation.

Methods: Symptomatic patients, patients with ischemia on myocardial scintigraphy and/or systolic dysfunction on echocardiography, patients older than 50 years and diabetes mellitus (DM) as a cause of CKD, and those with two or more risk factors underwent coronary angiography.