Analysis of intra-GBM microstructures in a SLE case with glomerulopathy associated with podocytic infolding.

Background: Systemically podocytic infolding into the GBM which causes nonargyrophilic holes in the GBM in association with intra-GBM microstructures has been considered as a new pathological entity. However, its pathomechanisms are largely unknown.

Methods: We analyzed intra-GBM microstructures in an SLE patient with glomerulopathy associated with podocytic infolding by immunoelectron microscopy for vimentin (a marker for both podocyte and endothelium) and C5b-9 and by 3D reconstruction of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images by computer tomography method.

Simple sampling strategy for measuring inulin renal clearance.

Background: In the standard method of inulin clearance (Cin), three sets of serum and urine samples are collected during a 2-hour clearance period. For a practical use of this method, sampling should be the minimal number allowable while still providing enough accuracy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of inulin renal clearance with assumed single urine collection with a period such as 30, 60 or 90 minutes.

Water intoxication induced by low-dose oral cyclophosphamide in a patient with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-related glomerulonephritis.

We reported the case of a 70-year-old woman with moderate renal failure due to anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-related glomerulonephritis who developed symptomatic water intoxication (serum Na: 108 mEq/L) following treatment with oral low-dose cyclophosphamide (CY) (50mg/day). Estimated glomerular filtration rate was 29.5 mL/min/1.

[Background of measures against chronic kidney disease].

The number of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Japan is estimated to be 6-13 million. The actions against CKD are urgently requested, because 1) CKD is a strong risk factor for the development of chronic renal failure and cardio-vascular diseases, 2) the numbers of end stage renal failure and cardiovascular events are increasing, and 3) CKD is a treatable disease. To prevent the increase in patients on dialysis and cardio-vascular events, the establishment of the system to detect and treat CKD patients is essential.

Intrarenal RAS activity and urinary angiotensinogen excretion in anti-thymocyte serum nephritis rats.

The differential roles of circulating and intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in glomerulonephritis have not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the levels of circulating and intrarenal RAS activity and urinary angiotensinogen (AGT) excretion in anti-thymocyte serum (ATS) nephritis induced by an ATS injection (ATS group). The effect of olmesartan, an angiotensin II (ANG II) type 1 receptor blocker (ARB), on the development of nephritis was also examined (ATS+ARB group).

Maintenance time of sedative effects after an intravenous infusion of diazepam: a guide for endoscopy using diazepam.

Aim: To examine whether the sedative effects assessed by psychomotor tests would depend on the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 genotypes after an infusion regimen of diazepam commonly used for gastrointestinal endoscopy in Japan.

Methods: Fifteen healthy Japanese volunteers consisting of three different CYP2C19 genotype groups underwent a critical flicker fusion test, an eye movement analysis and a postural sway test as a test for physical sedative effects, and a visual analog scale (VAS) symptom assessment method as a test for mental sedative effects during the 336 h period after the intravenous infusion of diazepam (5 mg).

Results: The physical sedative effects assessed by the critical flicker test continued for 1 h (t values of 5 min, 30 min and 60 min later: 4.

Chronic Kidney Disease Japan Cohort (CKD-JAC) study: design and methods.

The prevalence and incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Japan are the highest and the third highest, respectively, in the world, while the incidence of cardiac death in Japan is the lowest among developed countries. A recent study showed that the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2), is extremely high in Japan, about 20% of the adult population.

Glutamine supplementation increases Th1-cytokine responses in murine intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes.

Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) are major effector cells in the gut mucosal immune system, and are phenotypically distinct from thymic and peripheral T cells. Although nutritional supplementation with glutamine affects the intestinal immune response, it remains unclear whether this is a direct effect via the IEL-derived cytokines. This study examined changes in IEL-derived cytokine production following treatment with glutamine in vitro.

Relationship between serum pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor/visfatin and atherosclerotic parameters in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF)/visfatin is produced by adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, bone marrow, the liver and lymphocytes. Although serum PBEF/visfatin is related to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, and its level is elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease, it remains unclear whether increased PBEF/visfatin is associated with atherosclerotic parameters in hemodialysis (HD) patients. In this study, we measured serum PBEF/visfatin in 68 chronic HD patients (age 66 +/- 14 years, time on HD 76 +/- 76 months, 41 males, 27 females) and examined the association of serum PBEF/visfatin with serum asymmetric dimethylarginine, arteriosclerotic parameters such as pulse wave velocity, ankle brachial pressure index and the percent of abdominal aortic wall calcification in a cross-sectional fashion.

MDR1 C3435T polymorphism has no influence on developing Helicobacter pylori infection-related gastric cancer and peptic ulcer in Japanese.

Aims: P-glycoprotein, the gene product of multidrug-resistant transporter-1 (MDR1), confers multidrug resistance against antineoplastic agents but also affects the kinetic disposition of some drugs and carcinogens. MDR1 C3435T polymorphism influences the development of colon cancer and adult acute myeloid leukemia by the association with transporting carcinogen. The aim of this study was to clarify the association of MDR1 C3435T polymorphism with susceptibility to gastric cancer and peptic ulcers in patients with Japanese H.

Human Sgo1 downregulation leads to chromosomal instability in colorectal cancer.

Background And Aims: Chromosomal instability (CIN) is recognised as a hallmark of cancer and is caused by a spindle assembly checkpoint disorder or chromosome mis-segregation during mitosis. Although the recent identification of human shugoshin (hSgo1), an important player in proper chromosome segregation, has suggested the involvement of hSgo1 in colorectal tumourigenesis, little is known about how it is involved. The aim of this study was to obtain information about the status of hSgo1 in human colorectal cancer.

Serum pepsinogens as an early diagnostic marker of H. pylori eradication.

Background/aims: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication increases the serum pepsinogen I/ pepsinogen II ratio and the percentage change in pepsinogen I/pepsinogen II ratios is a useful marker of H. pylori eradication.

A distinct population of tubular cells in the distal S3 segment contributes to S3 segment regeneration in rats following acute renal failure induced by uranyl acetate.

Background: We previously reported that early regenerating cells found at the distal area of the S3 segment of the nephron (designated as target cells) were label-retaining cells in uranyl acetate (UA)-induced acute renal failure (ARF) in rats. In this study, we examined the contribution of these target cells to S3 segment repair after UA treatment. We also discriminated target cells from bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-label-retaining cells labeled under normal conditions and examined their capacity to proliferate following a second insult and their resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).

Flavonol Caffeoylglycosides as alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitors from Spiraea cantoniensis Flower.

In the screening experiments for rat intestinal alpha-glucosidase inhibitors in 218 plants cultivated in the Japanese temperate region, potent maltase-inhibiting activity was found in the extract of flowers of Spiraea cantoniensis. The enzyme assay guided fractionation of the extract led to the isolation of three flavonol caffeoylglycosides, quercetin 3- O-(6- O-caffeoyl)-beta-galactoside ( 1), kaempferol 3- O-(6- O-caffeoyl)-beta-galactoside ( 2), and kaempferol 3- O-(6- O-caffeoyl)-beta-glucoside ( 3), as rat intestinal maltase inhibitors. This is the first report on the alpha-glucosidase-inhibitory activity of those flavonol caffeoylglycosides.

Slower decline of glomerular filtration rate in the Japanese general population: a longitudinal 10-year follow-up study.

The prevalence of stage 3 to 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Japan (18.7%) is considerably higher than that in the United States (4.5%).

Association of high-molecular-weight to total adiponectin ratio with pulse wave velocity in hemodialysis patients.

High-molecular-weight adiponectin (HMW ADPN) plays an important role in the regulation of insulin action and atherogenic processes, but the role of HMW ADPN remains to be determined in hemodialysis (HD) patients. In this study, we measured serum total and HMW ADPN in 67 HD patients (age: 67 +/- 14 years, time on HD: 75 +/- 68 months, male/female = 39/28), and examined an association between HMW ADPN and arteriosclerotic parameters such as aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI). PWV was significantly correlated positively with log-transformed IL-6 (r = 0.

Comparison of the major flavonoid content of S. baicalensis, S. lateriflora, and their commercial products.

According to the notification for definition of pharmaceuticals from the Director-General of the Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau, Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare of Japan, the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis (Chinese skullcap) and S. lateriflora (skullcap) are classified as "the raw materials exclusively used as pharmaceuticals", but their aerial parts are classified as "non-pharmaceuticals" so, in principle, there are no health claims for these materials and no descriptions of drug-like dosages or administration directions. Dried root of S.

The molecular mechanisms of the attenuation of cisplatin-induced acute renal failure by N-acetylcysteine in rats.

Background: The clinical use of cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloro-platinum II, CDDP) is highly limited by its nephrotoxicity. Although N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a thiol-containing antioxidant, has been documented to be effective in attenuating renal injury induced by CDDP, the precise mechanisms involved in its renoprotection have not been completely clarified.

Methods: We investigated the effects of NAC on oxidative stress and oxidation-associated signals, such as p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), NF-kappaB and TNF-alpha, in CDDP-induced acute renal failure (ARF) rats, in comparison to the effects of melatonin (MT), one of the physiological TNF-alpha inhibitors, and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), a NF-kappaB inhibitor.

Association of serum adiponectin levels with all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Objective: Adiponectin (ADPN) has been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease for the general population with problematic metabolic syndrome. However, it remains unclear whether ADPN is associated with mortality in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD). METHODS, PATIENTS OR MATERIALS: We selected 85 HD patients [51 men/34 women; mean age, 64+/-2 years; underlying kidney diseases, diabetic nephropathy in 36 patients (42.

Chronic kidney disease perspectives in Japan and the importance of urinalysis screening.

There are racial differences in primary renal diseases for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and the incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). To reduce the number of patients with both ESRD and CVD, an effective screening method for CKD should be established. In Japan, screening with the urine dip-stick test for proteinuria has been used since 1972 targeting every child and worker and since 1983 for every resident over 40 years old.

Clinical analysis of 207 patients who developed renal disorders during or after treatment with edaravone reported during post-marketing surveillance.

Background: The post-marketing surveillance of edaravone has reported serious adverse reactions, including renal and hepatic disorders. Renal disorders were the most frequently reported serious/important adverse reactions, which led to the evaluation of their causation by edaravone, their severity, and the recovery of renal function.

Methods: A retrospective review was carried out of 207 Japanese patients with acute stroke who developed renal disorders on edaravone treatment.

Modification of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study equation for Japan.

Background: Glomerular filtration rate (GFR)-estimating equations based on serum creatinine level may not be accurate across racial groups because of differences among races in creatinine generation. The Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study equation was developed in whites and African Americans, but performance was not evaluated in Japanese.

Study Design: Diagnostic test accuracy.