Vascular leak in a rat model of preeclampsia.

Background/aims: Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder which develops de novo in women during pregnancy. The urinary excretion of the cardiotonic steroid, marinobufagenin (MBG), is increased prior to the development of hypertension. Preeclamptic patients are volume expanded but much of the excess salt and water appears to be located primarily in the interstitial space.

The effect of oral sodium phosphate drug products on renal function in adults undergoing bowel endoscopy.

Background: Oral sodium phosphate solution (OSPS) preparations are preferred cleansing agents for colonoscopy because of ease of use and excellent preparation quality. Besides causing acute renal failure in some patients, the high phosphorus content can potentially cause chronic kidney damage to patients undergoing colonoscopy.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective study on patients with creatinine levels in the normal range who had undergone colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy using OSPS preparation from January 1998 to February 2005 and followed them for 1 year to determine its effects on their renal function.

Racial and ethnic variations in the epidemiology of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in the United States.

Background/aims: Despite the global increase in the incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, regional variations occur. To assess the potential contribution of racial/ethnic factors, we assessed the epidemiology of these cancers in different racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Methods: Disease prevalence, mortality and survival rates for different racial and ethnic groups were obtained from the surveillance, epidemiology and end results survey database.