Astaxanthin attenuates diabetic kidney injury through upregulation of autophagy in podocytes and pathological crosstalk with mesangial cells.

Astaxanthin (ATX) is a strong antioxidant drug. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ATX on podocytes in diabetic nephropathy and the underlying renal protective mechanism of ATX, which leads to pathological crosstalk with mesangial cells. In this study, diabetic rats treated with ATX exhibited reduced 24-h urinary protein excretion and decreased blood glucose and lipid levels compared to vehicle-treated rats.

Efficacy of uremic pruritus treatment in patients undergoing hemodialysis, a network meta-analysis for randomized clinical trials.

Introduction: Uremic pruritus is very common in hemodialysis or renal failure patients, there were lots of available treatments such as gabapentin, pregabalin, ondansetron, etc. However, there is no quantified study comparing these treatments together, it is impossible to conduct a clinical trial involving so many treatments, so we conduct a network meta-analysis to compare them.

Method: We collected mean difference and standard error of visual analogue scale data as outcome.

Effect of physical activity on depression symptoms in patients with IgA nephropathy.

Objective: We aimed to assess the effects of physical activity (PA) on depression symptoms in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN).

Methods: We developed a 6-month personalized PA training program for patients with IgAN. At the beginning and after completion of the training intervention, patients’ cardiopulmonary function was assessed via a spiroergometric study.

Efficacy and Safety of Renin-Angiotensin Aldosterone System Inhibitor in Patients with IgA Nephropathy: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) as the commonly used renin-angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitor are widely used in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN), but the effect is controversy. In this study, we used a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ACEI and/or ARB for the patients with IgAN.

Methods: Two investigators independently searched the PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, EBSCO, and Wiley databases without language restrictions.

C1q nephropathy in an old woman with acute renal failure: a case report and literature review.

Reports on the clinical entity of C1q nephropathy have focused on older children and young adult, data on old people are rare. In this report, we would introduce a 77-year-old woman who was diagnosed as C1q nephropathy by means of electron microscopic and immunofluorescence examination. Facial and lower extremity edema was the main reason for her to go for medical treatment, and she developed into acute renal failure within 5 d.

Antibiotic-induced neurotoxicity in dialysis patients: a retrospective study.

Objective: The study was to evaluate neurotoxicity caused by antibiotics in dialysis patients, including incidence, clinical features, treatments and prognosis.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed the medical records of 1066 dialysis patients (254 peritoneal dialysis [PD] cases and 812 hemodialysis [HD] cases) who also received intravenous antibiotics in our hospital during July 2006 - April 2012. Naranjo scale was used for estimating the probability of an adverse drug reaction.

Gastric metaplasia and Helicobacter pylori infection in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) symptoms are common in hemodialysis (HD) patients, while gastric metaplasia (GM) and Helicobacter pylori infections are key causes for UGI symptoms. This study is targeted to compare GM and H. pylori infections in patients with different durations of HD.