Roultella ornithinolytica infection in infancy: a case of febrile urinary tract infection.

Raoultella ornithinolytica is a Gram-negative, non-motile, encapsulated, aerobic bacillus belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. R. ornithinolytica is a not very common, but emergent causal agent of human infection, and its expression of beta-lactamase provides resistance to commonly used antibiotics.

Congenital Solitary Kidney in Children: Size Matters.

Purpose: We assessed renal function outcome in children with congenital solitary kidney and evaluated prognostic risk factors.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively studied the clinical charts of 210 children presenting with congenital solitary kidney at 2 pediatric nephrology and 5 pediatric units between January 2009 and October 2012. Children 0 to 18 years old with a congenital solitary kidney confirmed by scintigraphy were enrolled.

Trimming long-term tunneled central venous catheters in pediatric patients.

Long-term tunneled central venous catheters (CVC) are employed in critically ill patients. Manufacturers do not provide patient-customized devices; therefore, trimming is required for pediatric use. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was used to assess changes induced by different trimming methods on single and double lumen Hickman-Broviac catheters.

Expression profiles of podocytes exposed to high glucose reveal new insights into early diabetic glomerulopathy.

Podocyte injury has been suggested to have a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of diabetic glomerulopathy. To glean insights into molecular mechanisms underlying diabetic podocyte injury, we generated temporal global gene transcript profiles of podocytes exposed to high glucose for a time interval of 1 or 2 weeks using microarrays. A number of genes were altered at both 1 and 2 weeks of glucose exposure compared with controls grown under normal glucose.

Bone morphogenetic protein-7 delays podocyte injury due to high glucose.

Background: The molecular pathogenesis of diabetic glomerulosclerosis remains unknown, but recent studies suggest that podocyte damage may play a role. Bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP-7) is physiologically expressed in podocytes and tubular epithelial cells. Our previous studies show that BMP-7 reverses glomerular and tubulointerstitial damage in diabetic rats, but there is little known about possible effects of BMP-7 on podocytes.

Urinary podocyte mRNA excretion in children with D+HUS: a potential marker of long-term outcome.

Background: Diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (D+HUS) causes acute renal failure and may lead to podocyte loss. Objective. To determine if the urinary mRNA excretion of podocyte proteins is detectable in children with D+HUS and if it is a biomarker of a poor long-term outcome.

Transcriptional regulation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 2/3 expression by the NF-kappaB pathway in primary dorsal root ganglia neurons: a possible mechanism for the analgesic effect of L-acetylcarnitine.

L-acetylcarnitine (LAC), a drug utilized for the treatment of neuropathic pain in humans, has been shown to induce analgesia in rodents by up-regulating the expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGlu2) in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). We now report that LAC-induced upregulation of mGlu2 expression in DRG cultures involves transcriptional activation mediated by nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). A single application of LAC (250 muM) to DRG cultures induced a transient increase in mGlu2 mRNA, which was observable after 1 hour and was no longer detectable after 1 to 4 days.

Blood pressure in the long-term follow-up of children with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

The hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is the most common cause of acute renal failure (ARF) in young children. Most patients recover from the acute phase of the illness but they may develop arterial hypertension(AH) after many years, even in the absence of signs of renal impairment during short-term follow-up. In this study, we performed casual blood pressure (BP) measurement, 24-h blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), and a Bruce walking treadmill study (ET) in 24 children (aged 5-15 years, 13 males, 11 females) with a history of HUS and normal renal function during follow-up (median 5.

Risk factors for poor renal prognosis in children with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Many factors have been proposed as predictors of poor renal prognosis in children with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), but their role is still controversial. Our aim was to detect the most reliable early predictors of poor renal prognosis to promptly identify children at major risk of bad outcome who could eventually benefit from early specific treatments, such as plasmapheresis. Prognostic factors identifiable at onset of HUS were evaluated by survival analysis and a proportional hazard model.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infections associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome, Italy, 1988-2000.

The mean annual incidence of hemolytic uremic syndrome in persons View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Role of non-polio enterovirus infection in pediatric hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli(VTEC) infections cause most cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS); 10-30% of patients, however, are negative for VTEC infection. The etiology of HUS in VTEC-negative cases remains poorly understood. Before the association between VTEC infection and HUS was recognized, sporadic cases of HUS with enterovirus infection were reported in the literature.