Antibody Response after 3-Dose Booster against SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with a high rate of mortality in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Current vaccine strategies for KTRs seem to be unable to provide effective protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the occurrence of severe disease in some vaccinated KTRs suggested a lack of immunity. We initially analyzed the antibody response in a group of 32 kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) followed at the nephrology and dialysis unit of the Hospital Pio XI of Desio, ASST-Brianza, Italy.

Fungal peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis: a 34-year single centre evaluation.

Backgound: Fungal peritonitis (FP) is one of the most important causes of peritoneal dialysis (PD) failure, often burdened by increased morbility and mortality. This study evaluates the clinical course of FP cases that arose between 1983 and 2016 in a single PD unit.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational analysis of FP episodes recorded in the Baxter POET (Peritonitis Organism Exit sites Tunnel infections) registry and clinical records.

The interview with a patient on dialysis: feeling, emotions and fears.

This study has been performed in the Nephrology and Dialysis Unit, in Desio Hospital, Italy. The aim of this study is to evaluate, starting from research questions, which information is given to patient in the pre-dialysis colloquia for his/her chosen dialysis methods. Moreover, the study evaluated feelings, emotions and fears since the announcement of the necessity of dialysis treatment.

[A case of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis after fifteen years of peritoneal dialysis with a favorable outcome].

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) represents a critical complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). EPS is characterized by abdominal discomfort, often leading to fatal outcomes with limited pharmaceutical and surgical options. Herein is described a case of EPS with a favorable outcome in an African male treated with PD for 15 years.

Carotid artery intima-media thickness in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Purpose: To evaluate, in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with no or mild alterations of liver function tests, carotid artery intima-media thickness and the presence of plaques and to define determinants of vascular damage.

Methods: A paired-sample case-control study: 125 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and 250 controls, without a prior diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, matched for sex, age, and body mass index. B-mode ultrasound was used for evaluation of carotid intima-media thickness and presence of small plaques.

HFE genotype influences erythropoiesis support requirement in hemodialysis patients: a prospective study.

Background/aims: HFE protein controls iron absorption and cycling, and HFE mutations influence iron status. The aim was to evaluate the effect of the HFE genotype on the need for iron and erythropoietin in Italian hemodialysis patients.

Methods: Ninety-six prevalent patients were evaluated at the time of enrolment and prospectively followed for 3 years.

HFE gene mutations and oxidative stress influence serum ferritin, associated with vascular damage, in hemodialysis patients.

Background/aims: Hyperferritinemia has been associated with cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether serum ferritin was affected by iron and oxidative status and by genetic factors (HFE mutations and the Ala9Val MnSOD polymorphism), and to assess the association between ferritin and cardiovascular damage evaluated by ecocolor-Doppler.

Methods: 63 hemodialysis patients were tested for HFE and MnSOD genotype by restriction analysis and oxidative status; vascular damage was assessed by measuring intima-media thickness, and by detecting plaques at carotid and femoral arteries.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha promoter polymorphisms and insulin resistance in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background & Aims: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which can range from fatty liver alone to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis, is related to insulin resistance. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) may induce insulin resistance, and polymorphisms of its promoter have been associated with an increased release of this cytokine. We analyzed (1) the prevalence of insulin resistance, (2) the prevalence of the 238 and 308 TNF-alpha polymorphisms, and (3) the relationship among TNF-alpha polymorphisms, insulin resistance, and the occurrence of steatohepatitis in 99 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver diagnosed by ultrasonography and confirmed by histologic analysis in the 53 who underwent biopsy.