Clinical and Genetic Spectrum of Bartter Syndrome Type 3.

Bartter syndrome type 3 is a clinically heterogeneous hereditary salt-losing tubulopathy caused by mutations of the chloride voltage-gated channel Kb gene (), which encodes the ClC-Kb chloride channel involved in NaCl reabsorption in the renal tubule. To study phenotype/genotype correlations, we performed genetic analyses by direct sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and retrospectively analyzed medical charts for 115 patients with mutations. Functional analyses were performed in oocytes for eight missense and two nonsense mutations.

Conflict of Interest Policies at French Medical Schools: Starting from the Bottom.

Background: Medical faculties have a role in ensuring that their students are protected from undue commercial influence during their training, and are educated about professional-industry interactions. In North America, many medical faculties have introduced more stringent conflict of interest (COI) policies during the last decade. We asked whether similar steps had been taken in France.

Unusual presentation of primary toxoplasmosis infection in a kidney-transplant patient complicated by an acute left-ventricular failure.

Although primary toxoplasmosis is a rare event following kidney transplantation, it can be life threatening. This report describes this complication. The patient presented with high-grade fever, haemolytic anaemia and haemophagocytic-syndrome-related pancytopaenia.

Vertigo after renal transplantation: a sign of paucisymptomatic cryptococcal meningitis.

We report what is to our knowledge the first case of severe isolated vertigo that developed after renal transplantation and was a manifestation of cryptococcal meningitis. Treatment with antifungal therapy resulted in the complete resolution of vertiginous symptoms. Immunosuppressed patients with an opportunistic infection of the central nervous system can present with extremely tenuous features of infection and atypical neurologic signs.

Induction therapy with either anti-CD25 monoclonal antibodies or rabbit antithymocyte globulins in liver transplantation for hepatitis C.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related end-stage liver disease (ESLD) is the leading cause for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The aim of our sequential study was to assess the safety and efficacy of induction therapy using either rabbit antithymocyte globulins (RATG) or anti-CD25 monoclonal antibodies.

Methods: From January 2000 to January 2003, 31 patients underwent OLT for HCV-related ESLD, and survived more than 1 month post-transplantation.