Publications by authors named "Joshua L Rein"

Cannabis and synthetic cannabinoid consumption are increasing worldwide. Cannabis contains numerous phytocannabinoids that act on the G protein-coupled cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) and cannabinoid receptor type 2 expressed throughout the body, including the kidney. Essentially every organ, including the kidney, produces endocannabinoids, which are endogenous ligands to these receptors.

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  • IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and minimal change disease (MCD) are the most frequently reported glomerular diseases following COVID-19 vaccinations, especially mRNA vaccines, along with others like membranous nephropathy.
  • A global registry was created to collect anonymized data on patients with glomerular diseases suspected after vaccination, focusing on vaccination details, kidney function, and treatment outcomes.
  • Results show that while IgAN and MCD have a better chance of kidney function recovery and reduced proteinuria within 4–6 months post-vaccination, causality remains unproven despite a temporal link.
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Serum sodium disorders are generally a marker of water balance in the body. Thus, hypernatremia is most often caused by an overall deficit of total body water. Other unique circumstances may lead to excess salt, without an impact on the body's total water volume.

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Cannabis consumption for recreational and medical use is increasing worldwide. However, the long-term effects on kidney health and disease are largely unknown. analysis of cannabis use as a risk factor for kidney disease was performed using data from the Assessment, Serial Evaluation, and Subsequent Sequelae of Acute Kidney Injury (ASSESS-AKI) study that enrolled hospitalized adults with and without acute kidney injury from four U.

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  • A study aimed to explore the link between cannabis use and chronic kidney disease (CKD) through both retrospective cohort analysis and Mendelian randomization using a large dataset.
  • The research found that while infrequent cannabis users did not show increased CKD risk, those who used cannabis weekly or daily had a significant association with higher CKD odds.
  • However, genetic predisposition to cannabis use disorder did not correlate with increased CKD risk, indicating that the relationship may not be causal.
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Ammonium is a major urinary buffer that is necessary for the normal excretion of the daily acid load. Its urinary rate of excretion (UNH) may be increased several fold in the presence of extrarenal metabolic acidosis. Therefore, measurement of UNH can provide important clues about causes of metabolic acidosis.

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Background: Hyperkalemia is a potentially life-threatening electrolyte abnormality that often requires urgent treatment. Clinicians should distinguish true hyperkalemia from pseudohyperkalemia and reverse pseudohyperkalemia (RPK). RPK has exclusively been described in case reports of patients with hematologic malignancies (HMs) and extreme leukocytosis [white blood cell (WBC) count >200 × 10/mL].

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Understanding and interpretation of acid-base disorders is an important clinical skill that is applicable to the majority of physicians. Although this topic is taught early in medical school, acid-base disturbances have been described as challenging by postgraduate trainees. We describe the use of Twitter, an online microblogging platform, to augment education in acid-base disturbances by using polls in which the user is shown laboratory values and then asked to select the most likely etiology of the disorder.

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Adverse side effects often account for the failure of drug clinical trials. We evaluated whether a phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) of 1167 phenotypes in >360,000 U.K.

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  • Acute kidney injury (AKI) is prevalent in COVID-19 patients, with around 46% of hospitalized individuals experiencing it, which is linked to worse health outcomes and higher mortality rates.
  • The study, which analyzed data from 3,235 hospitalized patients, found that 20% of those with AKI required dialysis, and in the ICU, the incidence of AKI was as high as 68%.
  • Independent risk factors for severe AKI included chronic kidney disease and low blood pressure, with in-hospital mortality rates for patients with AKI at 41%, significantly higher in the ICU at 52%.
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  • The cortical collecting duct (CCD) in mammalian kidneys is crucial for regulating electrolytes, acid/base balance, and fluid levels through reabsorption and excretion by its specialized cells.
  • Researchers developed a novel in vitro three-dimensional kidney CCD model using immortalized mouse cells to study these processes under conditions that mimic natural flow in the kidney.
  • The 3D model successfully formed a tight epithelial barrier and demonstrated functional Na absorption, making it a useful tool for investigating renal physiology more accurately than traditional flat cell cultures.
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Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) are both the savior and Achilles' heel of kidney transplantation. Although CNIs have significantly reduced rates of acute rejection, their numerous toxicities can plague kidney transplant recipients. By 10 years, virtually all allografts will have evidence of CNI nephrotoxicity.

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Purpose Of Review: Cannabis (marijuana, weed, pot, ganja, Mary Jane) is the most commonly used federally illicit drug in the United States. The present review provides an overview of cannabis and cannabinoids with relevance to the practice of nephrology so that clinicians can best take care of patients.

Recent Findings: Cannabis may have medicinal benefits for treating symptoms of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease including as a pain adjuvant potentially reducing the need for opioids.

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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major public health problem that complicates 10-40% of hospital admissions. Importantly, AKI is independently associated with increased risk of progression to chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular events, and increased risk of in-hospital and long-term mortality. The chloride content of intravenous fluid has garnered much attention over the last decade, as well as its association with excess use and adverse outcomes, including AKI.

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Marijuana is the most commonly used recreational drug in the United States, and legal recreational and medicinal use has gained public acceptance during the last decade. Twenty-nine US states have established medical marijuana programs, 8 of which have also legalized recreational marijuana, and Canada is expected to legalize recreational marijuana in 2018. Advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are chronic conditions with significant associated morbidity and mortality.

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Calcific uremic arteriolopathy (CUA) is a rare and potentially fatal disorder of calcification involving subcutaneous small vessels and fat in patients with renal insufficiency. We describe the successful use of intravenous sodium thiosulfate (STS) for the treatment of CUA in two patients. The first case was complicated by the development of a severe anion gap metabolic acidosis, which was accompanied by a seizure.

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Hyponatremia at time of inpatient admission is associated with increased severity of illness and mortality in patients hospitalized for treatment of medical conditions. This study was conducted to determine the clinical outcome of psychiatric inpatients with admission hyponatremia. The cohort comprised 1000 adults consecutively admitted to a free-standing psychiatric hospital in 2010.

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