[Systemic corticosteroid treatment and risk of infectious diseases].

Purpose: It was shown that corticosteroids alter the inflammatory and immune responses. Many publications report on serious infections occurring in patients receiving corticosteroids or presenting with Cushing's syndrome. This information is synthesized in this article.

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis associated with mitochondrial cytopathy.

Background: The nonspecific lesion of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) can occur as a primary disease or in a variety of secondary settings. In mitochondrial cytopathies (MCs), the phenotypic expression of the disease depends on the degree of cellular dysfunction, and this correlates with the proportion of abnormal mitochondrial DNA in the cells and the dependence of tissues on oxidative metabolism. The most common renal manifestation in MCs is tubular dysfunction; little has been reported about glomerular diseases.

Production of 5-lipoxygenase pathway metabolites by peripheral leucocytes in capillary leak syndrome (Clarkson disease).

Periodic systemic capillary leak syndrome (Clarkson disease) is characterized by unexplained attacks of a marked increase in capillary permeability. As leukotrienes, derived from arachidonic acid via the 5-lipoxygenase pathway, enhance capillary permeability, we studied arachidonate metabolism in leucocytes of a patient with capillary leak syndrome. Leucocyte-platelet suspensions, prepared from blood collected from the patient during asymptomatic periods (n = 11) produced greater amounts of 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) than control suspensions (P less than 0.