Cardio-ankle vascular index to screen cardiovascular diseases in patients with end-stage renal diseases.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases constitute major causes of death in patients with chronic kidney diseases. An increase in arterial stiffness predicts the presence of cardiovascular diseases; however, non-invasive arterial stiffness parameters such as pulse wave velocity are confounded by blood pressure.

Methods: A new arterial stiffness parameter beta for the arterial tree, cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), was measured.

Effect of angiotensin receptor blockers on cardiovascular events in patients undergoing hemodialysis: an open-label randomized controlled trial.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in patients with kidney failure treated with hemodialysis (HD). Although angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease, their effect in patients with kidney failure on HD therapy is not known.

Study Design: Open-labeled randomized trial.

Residual renal function plays an important role in regulating parathyroid hormone in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

In the past, hyperparathyroidism was not generally a major problem in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). However, in conjunction with disturbances in serum phosphate, Ca, and CaxP product, hyperparathyroidism has become a serious problem in the cardiovascular diseases of patients with end-stage renal disease-even patients undergoing CAPD. We retrospectively evaluated the first 5 years on CAPD for 17 patients who started and continued dialysis between April 1995 and September 2003.

Comparison and survival of patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis in a single center.

The influence of the type of dialysis on survival of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is controversial. To compare survival among patients with ESRD receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis (HD), we conducted a prospective cohort study in a single center from April 1995 to March 2005. During that period, 454 patients (161 women, 293 men; mean age: 61.

Elevation of plasma D-dimer is closely associated with venous thrombosis produced by double-lumen catheter in pre-dialysis patients.

Background: A double-lumen catheter (DLC) is used as a temporary blood access in emergency haemodialysis and continuous haemodialysis. There are various reports concerning thrombosis related to use of DLC and other catheters. The objective of this study is to assess the incidence of venous thrombosis when using DLC in patients undergoing blood purification.

Risk factors for vascular complications in patients on peritoneal dialysis.

The major cause of death in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) is vascular complications, including congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, and myocardial infarction. To clarify the risk factors for vascular complications in patients on PD, we investigated the clinical course of PD in patients with and without cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications. From among 327 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients initiated onto PD from April 1995 to March 2005 in the Kidney and Dialysis Center, Saitama Medical School, 8 developed de novo cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications (CVD group--mean age: 58.

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis is effective for patients with severe congestive heart failure.

Although the use of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) to treat refractory heart failure is not new, in combination with current medical treatment it improves patients'symptoms as well as their cardiac function. We started 16 patients (13 men with a mean age of 66.3 +/- 2.

Efficacy and safety of meropenem plus tobramycin followed by meropenem plus vancomycin for treating peritonitis in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Peritonitis is a serious complication in patients on peritoneal dialysis. We examined the efficacy of MTV therapy [first 7 days: meropenem 0.5 g intravenously (IV) twice daily, plus tobramycin 15 mg intraperitoneally (IP) in every dialysis bag; next 7 days: meropenem 0.

The newly developed calcium antagonist, azelnidipine, increases drain volume in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

Many patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) receive antihypertensive agents, including calcium antagonists, which produce reflex tachycardia through activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Azelnidipine, a newly developed calcium antagonist, has unique characteristics in that it causes less reflex stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. In the present study, we used a crossover method to compare the effects of amlodipine (5-10 mg daily) and azelnidipine (8-16 mg daily) on drain volume and weekly creatinine clearance in 9 CAPD patients (3 women, 6 men; mean age: 64 +/- 5 years; mean duration of CAPD: 1.

A five-year comparison of the renal protective effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers in patients with non-diabetic nephropathy.

Objective: Evidence suggests that the effectiveness of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition diminishes with time, resulting in increasing angiotensin II levels, the action of which can be inhibited by the addition of an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). In the present study, the renal protective effects of ACE inhibitors and ARBs were compared over a five-year period in a prospective, randomized, open-blind study in 68 nondiabetic Japanese patients with elevated serum creatinine levels.

Patients And Methods: Japanese patients with renal insufficiency were randomly assigned to receive either an ACE inhibitor (benazepril 1.