Spontaneous renal artery dissection diagnosed by unenhanced magnetic resonance angiography: case report.

A 47-year-old patient is presented who was admitted to the emergency department with complaints of right-sided flank pain and hypertension. His creatinine and glomerular filtration rate were 2.5 mg/dl and 37 ml/min respectively, so that contrast media administration was contraindicated.

Acute renal failure and nephrotic syndrome due to membranoproliferative nephritis during the second trimester of pregnancy.

We report the case of a patient with acute renal failure and nephrotic syndrome during the second trimester of an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy. Despite pregnancy, percutaneous renal biopsy was performed to evaluate the etiology, showing Type I membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Two therapeutic options were considered: pregnancy termination, suggested by the gynecologists, and our proposal of starting steroid therapy, in order to reduce proteinuria and improve renal function.

[Renal biopsy collection (2000-2008) from a single center, the Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University, Rome].

The collection of data about renal biopsies is an important starting point for clinical and epidemiological studies about kidney disease. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the frequency of the different kidney diseases, their clinical presentation and the demographic features of the population based on renal biopsies performed at our center during the years 2000-2008. Clinical presentations were defined as nephrotic syndrome (NS), urinary abnormalities, macroscopic hematuria, acute renal failure (ARF) and chronic renal failure (CRF).

Could an echo contrast agent be helpful in identifying renal artery stenosis?

Background: Diagnosis of renal artery stenosis using echo color-Doppler is subjected to several limitations. The aim of this study was to examine if the routine use of a contrast agent could be helpful in identifying renal artery stenosis (RAS).

Methods: We analysed 35 patients affected by RAS using an echo color-Doppler coupled with a contrast agent.

IgA nephropathy in cystic fibrosis.

The kidney does not usually present specific lesions in cystic fibrosis (CF), although in recent years renal involvement has been reported, particularly amyloidosis and immune complex glomerulonephritis. IgA nephropathy is rare. We report four cases of IgA nephropathy out of five renal biopsies performed in the last three years in patients with CF and renal involvement and discuss the possibility of a relationship between IgA nephropathy and CF.