Critical Stepwise Decline of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among Chronic Hemodialysis Patients 180 Days Post Comirnaty Vaccine.

Background: The reduced immune response of maintenance hemodialysis patients to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines is a major concern.

Objectives: To analyze the late (6 months after full vaccination) antibody response and compare it to early post-vaccination titer.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter prospective study of 13 hemodialysis units in Israel.

Minimal Change Disease Following the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.

We report on the development of minimal change disease (MCD) with nephrotic syndrome and acute kidney injury (AKI), shortly after first injection of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech). A 50-year-old previously healthy man was admitted to our hospital following the appearance of peripheral edema. Ten days earlier, he had received the first injection of the vaccine.

Long-term effectiveness of the Diabetes Conversation Map™ Program on health outcomes: A case-control retrospective cohort study.

Aim: To evaluate the clinical and health behavioural outcomes of a large sample of participants from the Diabetes Conversation Map™ Program.

Design: A matched-case-control study that was performed on a retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Participants were 11,053 Clalit Health Services members with type 2 diabetes who enrolled in the Diabetes Conversation Map™ Program between January 2010 - April 2016.

Effectiveness of Managing Diabetes During Ramadan Conversation Map intervention: A difference-in-differences (self-comparison) design.

Background: Some individuals with diabetes fast during Ramadan despite medical concerns for risk of adverse outcomes. The Managing Diabetes During Ramadan Conversation Map is a self-management education group-based intervention for Muslim individuals with type 2 diabetes, specifically addressing diabetes management during Ramadan.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Managing Diabetes During Ramadan Conversation Map intervention in improving short-term clinical outcomes and reducing healthcare utilization following Ramadan.

Inflammatory Biomarkers in Refractory Congestive Heart Failure Patients Treated with Peritoneal Dialysis.

Proinflammatory cytokines play a pathogenic role in congestive heart failure. In this study, the effect of peritoneal dialysis treatment on inflammatory cytokines levels in refractory congestive heart failure patients was investigated. During the treatment, the patients reached a well-tolerated edema-free state and demonstrated significant improvement in NYHA functional class.

Iron metabolism in hemodialyzed patients - a story half told?

Introduction: All living organisms have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to maintain appropriate iron levels in their cells and within their body. Recently our understanding of iron metabolism has dramatically increased. Overt labile plasma iron (LPI) represents a component of non-transferrin bound iron (NTBI) that is both redox active and chelatable, capable of permeating into organs and inducing tissue iron overload.

Zonulin, iron status, and anemia in kidney transplant recipients: are they related?

Background: In patients after kidney transplantation, anemia is relatively common and is associated with impaired kidney function, subclinical inflammatory state, and immunosuppressive treatment. Zonulin-prehaptoglobin-2, a newly discovered protein, is necessary for integrity of intracellular tight junctions in the gut. Taking into consideration iron metabolism, including its absorption in the gut, we designed a cross-sectional study to look for the possible interactions among zonulin, iron status, and anemia in kidney transplant recipients.

Hemojuvelin and iron metabolism in kidney and heart allograft recipients.

Introduction: Hemojuvelin plays an essential role in the regulation of hepcidin expression, specifically in the iron-sensing pathway. Dietary iron sensing and inflammatory pathways converge in the regulation of the key regulator hepcidin. Hepcidin is a small defensin-like peptide whose production by hepatocytes is modulated in response to anemia, hypoxia, or inflammation.

Iron metabolism in solid‑organ transplantation: how far are we from solving the mystery?

Iron is the most abundant transition metal in the human body and an essential element required for growth and survival. Our understanding of the molecular control of iron metabolism has increased dramatically over the past 10 years due to the discovery of hepcidin, which regulates the uptake of dietary iron and its mobilization from macrophages and hepatic stores. Although general practitioners and internists encounter iron deficiency and anemia in their everyday practice, little is known about iron metabolism in patients after solid-organ transplantation.

New parameters in iron metabolism and functional iron deficiency in patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

Introduction: Iron metabolism has been studied for many years. New substances involved in iron metabolism continue to be described. Functional iron deficiency (FID) is characterized by the presence of adequate iron stores (as defined by standard criteria) but insufficient iron mobilization required for erythropoiesis during administration of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents.

Renalase, hypertension, and kidney - the discussion continues.

Hypertension and cardiovascular complications are very common in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Overactivation of sympathetic nervous system is also widely recognized in CKD. Renalase may play an important role in the control of blood pressure (BP) by its regulatory function of catecholamine metabolism.

Is hemojuvelin a possible new player in iron metabolism in hemodialysis patients?

Introduction: Hemojuvelin (HJV) is highly expressed in the liver, skeletal muscles, and heart, seems to play a role in iron absorption and release from cells, and has anti-inflammatory properties. Moreover, HJV plays an essential role in the regulation of hepcidin expression, specifically in the iron-sensing pathway. Hepcidin has emerged as a key regulator of iron homeostasis.

Copeptin and its relation to arteriovenous fistula (AVF) type and NYHA class in hemodialysis patients.

Copeptin is cosynthesized with vasopressin, also known as anti-diuretic hormone, with similar plasma levels. In the past 2 years, copeptin has been studied as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in infections and other diseases. In patients with decompensated heart failure, copeptin was an accurate prognostic marker for mortality.

Lack of non-transferrin-bound iron in heart transplant recipients.

Background: Labile plasma iron (LPI) is a heterogeneous fraction thought to be composed of iron bound to serum albumin, citrate, and other undefined negatively charged ligands called non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI). It is associated with formation of reactive oxygen species which are implicated in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction and bacterial infection. Therefore, the measurement of NTBI could serve as an early marker for reactive oxygen species-induced tissue damage.

Iron metabolism in kidney allograft recipients: still a mystery?

Introduction: All living organisms have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to maintain appropriate iron levels in their cells and within their body. Recently our understanding of iron metabolism has dramatically increased. Overt labile plasma iron (LPI) represents a component of non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) that is both redox active and chelatable, capable of permeating into organs and inducing tissue iron overload.

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease and anemia in patients with coronary artery disease with normal serum creatinine undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions: relation to New York Heart Association class.

Background: Kidney disease and cardiovascular disease seem to be lethally synergistic and both are approaching the epidemic level. A reduced glomerular filtration rate is associated with increased mortality risk in patients with heart failure. Many patients with congestive heart failure are anemic.

The emerging role of NO and IGF-1 in early renal hypertrophy in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major complication of diabetes mellitus, and the most common cause of end-stage renal disease. DN is characterized by early hyperfiltration and renal hypertrophy, which are associated with increased renal insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels. The relationship between IGF-1 and nitric oxide (NO) in DN is not established.

Molecular study of proteinuria in patients treated with B₁₂ supplements: do not forget megaloblastic anemia type 1.

Background/aims: Current consensus supports the notion that proteinuria is a marker of renal disease with prognostic implications. Whereas most chronic kidney disease patients with proteinuria would often require antiproteinuric agents, there are some exceptions. Megaloblastic anemia type 1 (MGA1) is characterized by megaloblastic anemia due to congenital selective vitamin B(12) malabsorption and proteinuria.

Truncating mutations in the chloride/proton ClC-5 antiporter gene in Seven Jewish Israeli families with Dent's 1 disease.

Dent's disease is an X-linked hereditary renal tubular disorder characterized by low-molecular-weight proteinuria (LMWP), hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, nephrolithiasis, rickets and progressive renal failure. About 60% of patients have mutations in the CLCN5 gene (Dent 1), which encodes a kidney-specific chloride/proton antiporter, and 15% of patients have mutations in the OCRL1 gene (Dent 2). The aim of the study was to identify CLCN5 mutations in Jewish Israeli families with Dent's disease and to characterize the associated clinical syndromes.

Late diagnosis of primary hyperoxaluria type 2 in the adult: effect of a novel mutation in GRHPR gene on enzymatic activity and molecular modeling.

Purpose: Genetic causes of nephrolithiasis are underestimated. Primary hyperoxaluria type 2 is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the GRHPR gene, leading to an accumulation of oxalate and L-glycerate with recurrent kidney stone formation and nephrocalcinosis, and the later development of renal failure and systemic oxalate depositions. We studied the effects of a novel GRHPR mutation on GRHPR enzymatic activity and molecular modeling.

Arginine transport is augmented, through modulation of cationic amino acid transporter-1, in obstructive uropathy in rats.

Background: The decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which is characteristic of obstructive uropathy, was suggested to be associated with attenuated nitric oxide (NO) generation. Since availability of L-arginine, the sole precursor for NO, governs NO synthesis, we aimed to determine the role of glomerular arginine transport in rats subjected to 24 h of bilateral ureteral ligation (BUO).

Methods: Glomerular arginine transport was measured by uptake of radiolabeled arginine ([(3)H]-L-arginine), cationic amino acid transporters (CAT)-1 and -2 and arginases I and II mRNA expression were determined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Rosiglitazone improves aortic arginine transport, through inhibition of PKCalpha, in uremic rats.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists were shown to inhibit atherosclerosis through augmentation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity. In addition, rosiglitazone exerts a beneficial effect in chronic renal failure (CRF). Since l-arginine transport by CAT-1 (the specific arginine transporter for eNOS) is inhibited in uremia, we aimed to explore the effect of rosiglitazone on arginine transport in CRF.

Tubular and glomerular L-arginine transport (uptake and transporters) and the nitric oxide synthases in ischemic acute renal failure (iARF) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (STZ-DM).

Background: L-arginine or its metabolites may be important pathogenetic factors in ischemic acute renal failure (iARF) in rats. It was found that the L-arginine-nitric oxide synthase-nitric oxide system plays an important role in the renal hemodynamic alterations in the early stages of diabetes. The iARF in diabetic rats is much more severe than the normal rats exposed to a same ischemia time.