Publications by authors named "Lutz Weber"

Our review summarizes and evaluates the current state of knowledge on lipid metabolism in relation to the pathomechanisms of kidney disease with a focus on common pediatric kidney diseases. In addition, we discuss how nutrition in early childhood can alter kidney development and permanently shape kidney lipid and protein metabolism, which in turn affects kidney health and disease throughout life. Comprehensive integrated lipidomics and proteomics network analyses are becoming increasingly available and offer exciting new insights into metabolic signatures.

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Background: Steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) and steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) significantly affect children's quality of life. There are frequent relapses in SSNS and progression in SRNS. IPNA guidelines suggest that monoclonal antibodies like rituximab (RTX) are promising treatments.

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Objectives: Children and young patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at persistent risk of gingivitis despite usual preventive measures. This clinical study aimed to determine the efficacy of an intensive oral preventive programme (OPP) for young patients with CKD in treating plaque-induced gingivitis modified by systemic factors.

Methods: Young patients with CKD (N = 30) were recruited/randomised to a need-related OPP (n = 15) or treatment as usual (TAU) including mainly motivation and instructions (controls, n = 15) followed by a single intensive prophylactic appointment after 3 months.

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Introduction: Data on age-related differences in rejection rates, infectious episodes, and tacrolimus exposure in pediatric kidney transplant recipients (pKTRs) on a tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive regimen are scarce.

Methods: We performed a large-scale analysis of 802 pKTRs from the Cooperative European Paediatric Renal Transplant Initiative (CERTAIN) registry from 40 centers in 14 countries. The inclusion criteria were a tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive regimen and at least 2 years of follow-up.

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Article Synopsis
  • In kidney transplant recipients, BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (BKPyVAN) is a significant risk for transplant loss, and reducing immunosuppression to manage BKPyV-DNAemia can also heighten the risk of graft rejection.
  • The CERTAIN study, involving 195 pediatric kidney transplant recipients, found that BKPyV-DNAemia significantly increased the risk of T cell-mediated rejection, development of donor-specific antibodies, and overall decline in graft function.
  • The findings suggest that careful monitoring and regular screening for donor-specific antibodies are essential when adjusting immunosuppressive therapy in patients with BKPyV-DNAemia to mitigate rejection risks.
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Background: This study by the Cooperative European Paediatric Renal Transplant Initiative (CERTAIN) was designed to determine the incidence, risk factors, current management strategies, and outcomes of antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) in pediatric kidney transplant recipients (pKTR).

Methods: We performed an international, multicenter, longitudinal cohort study of data reported to the Cooperative European Paediatric Renal Transplant Initiative (CERTAIN) registry. Three hundred thirty-seven pKTR from 21 European centers were analyzed.

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  • Gingivitis is prevalent in young patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and managing it requires a collaborative approach; this study compared the effects of a more intensive oral care program versus standard preventive measures on the tongue microbiome of CKD patients.
  • The study involved 30 participants with CKD and gingivitis, analyzing tongue samples over six months to assess microbial changes using advanced genetic sequencing techniques.
  • Results indicated that neither intervention significantly altered the microbiome composition, demonstrating the stability and resilience of the tongue microbiome in children with CKD, even with improved oral hygiene.
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Article Synopsis
  • Clinical trials have shown that SGLT2 inhibitors like dapagliflozin benefit adults with diabetic and chronic kidney diseases, but their effects on younger patients, especially those with Alport syndrome, remain unclear.
  • The DOUBLE PRO-TECT Alport trial will involve participants aged 10 to 39 with a confirmed diagnosis of Alport syndrome and elevated albumin levels, testing the drug's safety and efficacy over 48 weeks compared to a placebo.
  • The study aims to measure changes in urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and kidney function to determine if these inhibitors can help protect against kidney failure in young patients.
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Background: Complement 3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN) are ultra-rare chronic kidney diseases with an overall poor prognosis, with approximately 40-50% of patients progressing to kidney failure within 10 years of diagnosis. C3G is characterized by a high rate of disease recurrence in the transplanted kidney. However, there is a lack of published data on clinical outcomes in the pediatric population following transplantation.

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Context: The pathophysiology of cystinosis-associated metabolic bone disease is complex.

Objective: We hypothesized a disturbed interaction between osteoblasts and osteoclasts.

Design: Binational cross-sectional multicenter study.

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Background: Infantile nephropathic cystinosis (INC) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder, mostly and often firstly affecting the kidneys, together with impaired disharmonious growth and rickets, eventually resulting in progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). With the introduction of cysteamine therapy, most pediatric patients reach adulthood with no need for kidney replacement therapy. Still, detailed changes in INC patients' clinical and morphological presentation over the past decades have not yet been thoroughly investigated.

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Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) directly affects oral health. Yet data about halitosis in young CKD patients and the impact of dental prophylaxis is limited. Therefore, as part of this randomized clinical trial, halitosis in young CKD patients undergoing intensive or standard oral preventive procedures was to be explored.

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Background: Tacrolimus, a calcineurin inhibitor (CNI), is currently the first-line immunosuppressive agent in kidney transplantation. The therapeutic index of tacrolimus is narrow due to due to the substantial impact of minor variations in drug concentration or exposure on clinical outcomes (i.e.

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Objectives: Oral microbiome plays a crucial role in the incidence and development of oral diseases. An altered intestinal microbiome has been reported in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study aimed to characterize the tongue microbiome of young patients with CKD compared to their healthy mothers to identify the influence of CKD-associated factors on resilient tongue ecosystem.

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Background: Nephritis is a common manifestation of IgA vasculitis and is morphologically indistinguishable from IgA nephropathy. While MEST-C scores are predictive of kidney outcomes in IgA nephropathy, their value in IgA vasculitis nephritis has not been investigated in large multiethnic cohorts.

Methods: Biopsies from 262 children and 99 adults with IgA vasculitis nephritis ( N =361) from 23 centers in North America, Europe, and Asia were independently scored by three pathologists.

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Background: The efficacy of continuous antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing urinary tract infection (UTI) in infants with grade III, IV, or V vesicoureteral reflux is controversial.

Methods: In this investigator-initiated, randomized, open-label trial performed in 39 European centers, we randomly assigned infants 1 to 5 months of age with grade III, IV, or V vesicoureteral reflux and no previous UTIs to receive continuous antibiotic prophylaxis (prophylaxis group) or no treatment (untreated group) for 24 months. The primary outcome was the occurrence of the first UTI during the trial period.

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Background: Infantile nephropathic cystinosis (INC) is a systemic lysosomal storage disease causing intracellular cystine accumulation, resulting in renal Fanconi syndrome, progressive kidney disease (CKD), rickets, malnutrition, and myopathy. An INC-specific disproportionately diminished trunk length compared to leg length poses questions regarding the functionality of the trunk.

Methods: Thus, we prospectively investigated thoracic dimensions and proportions, as well as their clinical determinants in 44 pediatric patients with INC with CKD stages 1-5 and 97 age-matched patients with CKD of other etiology between the ages of 2-17 years.

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Mutations in genes encoding molecular chaperones can lead to chaperonopathies, but none have so far been identified causing congenital disorders of glycosylation. Here we identified two maternal half-brothers with a novel chaperonopathy, causing impaired protein O-glycosylation. The patients have a decreased activity of T-synthase (), an enzyme that exclusively synthesizes the T-antigen, a ubiquitous O-glycan core structure and precursor for all extended O-glycans.

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The urinary albumin- and protein-to-creatinine ratios (UACR and UPCR, respectively) are key endpoints in most clinical trials assessing risk of progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). For the first time, the current study compares the UACR versus the UPCR head-to-head at early stages of CKD, taking use of the hereditary podocytopathy Alport syndrome (AS) as a model disease for any CKD. Urine samples originated from the prospective randomized, controlled EARLY PRO-TECT Alport trial (NCT01485978).

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Minimal change disease (MCD) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) are glomerulopathies associated with nephrotic syndrome. Primary forms of these diseases are treated with various regimes of immunosuppression. Frequently relapsing or glucocorticoid-dependent courses remain challenging.

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