Publications by authors named "Kowalewska J"

Perivascular macrophages (PVMs) and, to a lesser degree, microglia are targets and reservoirs of HIV and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in the brain. Previously, we demonstrated that colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) in PVMs was upregulated and activated in chronically SIV-infected rhesus macaques with encephalitis, correlating with SIV infection of PVMs. Herein, we investigated the role of CSF1R in the brain during acute SIV infection using BLZ945, a brain-penetrant CSF1R kinase inhibitor.

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Chronic rejection, the slowest presenting form of transplant rejection, typically manifests in the timespan of months to years. The pathogenesis of chronic rejection involves either cell- or humoral-mediated processes that involve memory cells, plasma cells, and antibody production against donor antigens. The findings of chronic rejection are nonspecific and include interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy with associated interstitial inflammation, vascular changes characterized by thickened intima containing macrophages and lymphocytes, and transplant glomerulopathy with mesangial matrix expansion and double contour of capillary walls.

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Organ transplant recipients exhibit lower rates of immune response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. Even when they do mount a demonstrable antibody response, it is unclear what degree of protection is conferred against the myriad potential complications of COVID-19 infection. We present here a case of a kidney transplant recipient who was homozygous for APOL1 risk alleles on low-dose immunosuppression who developed an antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination and subsequently acquired COVID-19 infection.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The Banff Working Group introduced a new classification for PyVAN based on viral load and interstitial fibrosis levels to better understand and categorize the condition.
  • * In a study of 124 kidney transplant patients, the new classification did not effectively predict risk for graft failure, with class 3 showing the worst outcomes but no significant differences between classes 1 and 2; additional factors like post-transplant timing and inflammation also played a role in graft failure.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), initially appreciated as a respiratory illness, is now known to affect many organs in the human body. Significant data has become available on muscle involvement, with creatinine kinase elevations present in a significant percentage of patients. For those with suspected COVID-19-associated myositis, the imaging modality of choice has been gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging; however, the use of technitium-99 m bone scan has not been previously reported.

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Background: Early dysfunction of renal allografts may be associated with vascular injury, which raises the specter of active rejection processes that require medical intervention. In our practice, we have encountered patients who present with delayed graft function and demonstrate a unique pattern of endothelial cell injury that raises concern for rejection in their biopsy. Therefore, we sought to systematically determine the biopsy characteristics and outcome of these patients.

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  • Fibrillary and immunotactoid glomerulonephritis are rare kidney diseases causing significant proteinuria, and recent research highlights the role of the DNA JB9 antigen in distinguishing fibrillary glomerulonephritis.
  • A case study describes a middle-aged woman with symptoms like proteinuria and hematuria, where a kidney biopsy showed fibrils that did not clearly fit into either the fibrillary or immunotactoid categories.
  • The complexities in classification suggest that some cases may represent a blend of both conditions, leading to discussions on pathology, clinical outcomes, treatment options, and diagnostic considerations.
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Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) of brain metastasis in patients with a poor prognosis remains controversial. Here, we compared results of SRS alone to whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in poor-prognosis patients and defined the most important unfavorable prognostic factors related to early death after SRS alone.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective analysis of prospective SRS data, 180 patients with brain metastases not previously treated with WBRT were analyzed.

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Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage genetic disorder associated with over 1000 mutations in the gene region. We report here a 69-year-old male who underwent a kidney biopsy to evaluate progressive renal failure. He was found to have zebra bodies in visceral epithelial cells on biopsy, with electron microscopy showing inclusions within the cytoplasm of multiple podocytes consistent with Fabry disease.

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A detailed transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound examination, performed by an expert examiner, could render a similar diagnostic performance to computed tomography for assessing pelvic/abdominal tumor spread disease in women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). This study aimed to describe and assess the feasibility of lung and intercostal upper abdomen ultrasonography as pretreatment imaging of EOC metastases of supradiaphragmatic and subdiaphragmatic areas. A preoperative ultrasound examination of consecutive patients suspected of having EOC was prospectively performed using transvaginal, transabdominal, and intercostal lung and upper abdomen ultrasonography.

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The APOL1 gene mutation is increasingly recognized as an import factor in living kidney donation. APOL1 gene variants prevalent in the African American population have been associated with increased risk of glomerulopathy. Shorter allograft survival is seen in transplants from donors who had 2 risk APOL1 gene alleles.

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ANCA (anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody) vasculitides are systemic autoimmune diseases in which anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibodies activate primed neutrophils, thereby generating an inflammatory cascade resulting in the damage of small sized blood vessels in various organs of the body, including the heart. Pleuropericardial involvement is underrecognized as a complication of ANCA vasculitis and is highlighted in this case report of a 51-year-old male who presented with an initial symptomatic presentation of pleuropericardial effusion progressing to pericardial tamponade in the setting of a later renal biopsy proven pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis with high ANA titres along with positive cANCA (cytoplasmic ANCA) and PR3 (proteinase 3) antibodies. He was found to have acute renal failure which progressively got better with cyclophosphamide.

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Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune disorder that is typically divided into limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis and diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis. Scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) is a severe complication of SSc and typically presents with new-onset hypertension and a reduction in renal functioning. In patients presenting with typical features of SRC, treatment with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor along with dialysis as needed is typically initiated empirically.

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Article Synopsis
  • This report is the first comprehensive analysis of kidney diseases in Poland, analyzing data from 9,394 renal biopsies conducted between 2009 and 2014.
  • The findings indicate a steady increase in the number of renal biopsies per million people, from 36 in 2009 to 44 in 2014, with significant regional differences across provinces in Poland.
  • The most prevalent kidney diseases identified were immunoglobulin A nephropathy (20%) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (15%) in adults, while in children, minimal change disease (22%) was most common, highlighting diverse glomerulopathies based on patient age and condition type.
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Article Synopsis
  • Acute rejection of kidney transplants is a major factor in long-term graft success, and early detection of rejection can improve outcomes.
  • A study was conducted with 17 kidney transplant recipients in Poland, who underwent biopsies and monitoring for donor-specific antibodies at various intervals post-surgery.
  • The study found that 17.6% of patients had subclinical acute cellular rejection at 3 months and some developed polyomavirus BK nephropathy, but early intervention led to positive results over a 4-year follow-up.
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Background: Renal biopsy has been proposed to determine the cause or reversibility of renal failure for patients with end-stage liver disease and may be useful in the kidney allocation. Nevertheless, little data exist to validate the usefulness of kidney biopsies in this patient population.

Methods: We evaluated the utility of renal biopsies in a cohort of 59 consecutive liver transplant candidates with renal impairment of unclear etiology referred to determine the need for simultaneous liver kidney transplantation (SLK) versus liver alone transplantation (LAT).

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Purpose: Cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis (CGGN) is a type of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) that develops in patients with systemic cryoglobulinemia. To date the exact pathogenesis of CGGN remains unclear. It has been suggested that macrophages may be significant contributors to the glomerular injury in this disease.

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Purpose Of Review: Glomerulonephritis is the leading cause of end-stage renal failure in renal transplant recipients. Recurrence of diseases in kidney allograft provides a unique opportunity to study the mechanisms of kidney disorders leading to the underlying native organ failure. There have been new advances in the understanding of the mechanisms of membranous nephropathy and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).

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Background: Rehabilitation therapy in children with neuromotor development disorders can be carried out with the use of various methods.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of rehabilitation carried out with the use of the new therapeutic method MNRI (Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) by objective measurements with a brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) examination.

Material And Methods: Besides the known parameters, Interpeak Latency I-V (IPL I-V) in BAEP, an original parameter proposed by Pilecki was introduced, called a relative IPL I-V value.

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Background: The aim of this study was to assess the expression of estrogen receptors alpha and beta in paratesticular tissues in a group of boys with and without cryptorchidism, and evaluation of karyotypes, localization, morphology and the major length of the undescended testes.

Material/methods: Fifty boys (1-4 years old) with unilateral cryptorchidism were evaluated. Fifty healthy boys within the same age range, with inguinal hernia, served as a control group.

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The most important features that determine the vital role of bone include: a) a continuous supply of calcium, which is indispensible for every cell of the entire organism at all times, and b) the delivery of circulating blood cells and some adult stem cells to keep the body vigorous, ready for self-reparation, and continuously rebuilding throughout life. These functions of bones are no less important than protecting the body cavities, serving as mechanical levers connected to the muscles, and determining the shape and dimensions of the entire organism. The aim of this review was to address some basic cellular and molecular knowledge to better understand the complex interactions of bone structural components.

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