Quality of life and outcomes in African Americans with CKD.

Low health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been associated with increased risk for hospitalization and death in ESRD. However, the relationship of HRQOL with outcomes in predialysis CKD is not well understood. We evaluated the association between HRQOL and renal and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in 1091 African Americans with hypertensive CKD enrolled in the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) trial and cohort studies.

Johanson-blizzard syndrome.

We present clinical features and genetic diagnosis in an Indian infant diagnosed with Johanson- Blizzard syndrome. This is a rare, autosomal recessive genetic condition with multi-system involvement and a characteristic facies. Molecular genetic testing is important to confirm the clinical diagnosis and offer prenatal diagnosis in future pregnancies.

A trial of 2 strategies to reduce nocturnal blood pressure in blacks with chronic kidney disease.

The objective of our study was to determine the effects of 2 antihypertensive drug dose schedules (PM dose and add-on dose) on nocturnal blood pressure (BP) in comparison with usual therapy (AM dose) in blacks with hypertensive chronic kidney disease and controlled office BP. In a 3-period, crossover trial, former participants of the African American Study of Kidney Disease were assigned to receive the following 3 regimens, each lasting 6 weeks, presented in random order: AM dose (once-daily antihypertensive medications taken in the morning), PM dose (once-daily antihypertensives taken at bedtime), and add-on dose (once-daily antihypertensives taken in the morning and an additional antihypertensive medication before bedtime [diltiazem 60-120 mg, hydralazine 25 mg, or additional ramipril 5 mg]). Ambulatory BP monitoring was performed at the end of each period.

Relationship between ambulatory BP and clinical outcomes in patients with hypertensive CKD.

Background And Objectives: Abnormal ambulatory BP (ABP) profiles are commonplace in CKD, yet the prognostic value of ABP for renal and cardiovascular outcomes is uncertain. This study assessed the relationship of baseline ABP profiles with CKD progression and subsequent cardiovascular outcomes to determine the prognostic value of ABP beyond that of clinic BP measurements.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: Between 2002 and 2003, 617 African Americans with hypertensive CKD treated to a clinic BP goal of <130/80 mmHg were enrolled in this prospective, observational study.

Quality of life and psychosocial factors in African Americans with hypertensive chronic kidney disease.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is poorly understood in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) prior to end-stage renal disease. The association between psychosocial measures and HRQOL has not been fully explored in CKD, especially in African Americans. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of HRQOL and its association with sociodemographic and psychosocial factors in African Americans with hypertensive CKD.

Relapse or worsening of nephrotic syndrome in idiopathic membranous nephropathy can occur even though the glomerular immune deposits have been eradicated.

Background: Relapse or worsening of nephrotic syndrome (NS) in idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) is generally assumed to be due to recurrent disease. Here we document that often that may not be the case.

Subjects And Methods: This is a prospective study of 7 consecutive IMN patients whose renal status improved, then worsened after completing a course of immunosuppressive therapy.

Relationship between body mass index and proteinuria in hypertensive nephrosclerosis: results from the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) cohort.

Background: Few studies have examined the association between obesity and markers of kidney injury in a chronic kidney disease population. We hypothesized that obesity is independently associated with proteinuria, a marker of chronic kidney disease progression.

Study Design: Observational cross-sectional analysis.

CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 polymorphisms and blood pressure response to amlodipine among African-American men and women with early hypertensive renal disease.

Purpose: To explore the association between CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 gene polymorphisms and blood pressure response to amlodipine among participants from the African-American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension Trial randomized to amlodipine (n = 164).

Methods: Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the risk of reaching a target mean arterial pressure (MAP) of < or =107 mm Hg by CYP3A4 (A-392G and T16090C) and CYP3A5 (A6986G) gene polymorphisms, stratified by MAP randomization group (low or usual) and controlling for other predictors for blood pressure response.

Results: Women randomized to a usual MAP goal with an A allele at CYP3A4 A-392G were more likely to reach a target MAP of 107 mm Hg.

Great genotypic and phenotypic diversities associated with copy-number variations of complement C4 and RP-C4-CYP21-TNX (RCCX) modules: a comparison of Asian-Indian and European American populations.

Inter-individual gene copy-number variations (CNVs) probably afford human populations the flexibility to respond to a variety of environmental challenges, but also lead to differential disease predispositions. We investigated gene CNVs for complement component C4 and steroid 21-hydroxylase from the RP-C4-CYP21-TNX (RCCX) modules located in the major histocompatibility complex among healthy Asian-Indian Americans (AIA) and compared them to European Americans. A combination of definitive techniques that yielded cross-confirmatory results was used.

G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 4 polymorphisms and blood pressure response to metoprolol among African Americans: sex-specificity and interactions.

Background: African Americans have a disproportionate burden of hypertension and comorbid disease. Pharmacogenetic markers of blood pressure response have yet to be defined clearly. This study explores the association between G-protein-coupled receptor kinase type 4 (GRK4) variants and blood pressure response to metoprolol among African Americans with early hypertensive nephrosclerosis.

Disparate estimates of hypertension control from ambulatory and clinic blood pressure measurements in hypertensive kidney disease.

Ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring provides unique information about day-night patterns of blood pressure (BP). The objectives of this article were to describe ABP patterns in African Americans with hypertensive kidney disease, to examine the joint distribution of clinic BP and ABP, and to determine associations of hypertensive target organ damage with clinic BP and ABP. This study is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the African American Study of Kidney Disease Cohort Study.

Predictors of participant adherence and retention in the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension.

The African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) was conducted over a 7-year period at 21 clinical centers across the United States to investigate whether one of two levels of blood pressure control and/or one of three classes of antihypertensive medications was more effective at slowing the rate of renal disease in African Americans with renal insufficiency presumed secondary to hypertension. Analysis at the end of the study revealed an overall participant retention rate of 90% (still alive and not on dialysis); defined as having had at least one 125I-iothalamate GFR, the primary data collection element, measured in the final year of the study. Adherence, defined as not missing 3 consecutive protocol visits (6 months) during the study, was 77%.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism predicts the time-course of blood pressure response to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition in the AASK trial.

Objective: It has yet to be determined whether genotyping at the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) locus is predictive of blood pressure response to an ACE inhibitor.

Methods: Participants from the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension trial randomized to the ACE inhibitor ramipril (n = 347) were genotyped at three polymorphisms on ACE, just downstream from the ACE insertion/deletion polymorphism (Ins/Del): G12269A, C17888T, and G20037A. Time to reach target mean arterial pressure ( View Article and Find Full Text PDF