Chronic Kidney Disease Management in General Practice: A Focus on Inappropriate Drugs Prescriptions.

Nephrotoxic drugs prescriptions are often prescribed inappropriately by general practitioners (GPs), increasing the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this study was to detect inappropriate prescriptions in patients with CKD and to identify their predictive factors. A retrospective study on patients with creatinine values recorded in the period 2014-2016 followed by 10 GPs was performed.

Parkinsonism and severe hypothyroidism in an elderly patient: a case of lithium toxicity due to pharmacological interactions.

What Is Known And Objective: Hypothyroidism is a common clinical side effect of lithium treatment, whereas parkinsonism is a very rare adverse event. A number of case series of clinical signs of reversible and permanent parkinsonism due to lithium toxicity have been previously published, but never in association with hypothyroidism. We describe a rare clinical case of concurrent reversible parkinsonism and severe hypothyroidism due to lithium toxicity.

Circulating progenitor cells in rheumatoid arthritis: association with inflammation and oxidative stress.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between inflammation, oxidative stress, and circulating progenitor cell (CPC) number and redox equilibrium, vascular lesions and accelerated atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Method: Circulating CD34+ cells were isolated from 33 RA patients and 33 controls. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and mRNA expression of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase type 1 (GPx-1) antioxidant enzymes, and the gp91phox-containing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase NOX2 were measured in CD34+ cells.

Actinomadura pelletieri mycetoma--an atypical case with spine and abdominal wall involvement.

We describe a case of mycetoma caused by Actinomadura pelletieri with simultaneous involvement of the spine, abdominal wall and retroperitoneal space in a man who had suffered from 'Madura foot' 10 years earlier. The characteristics of this case were analysed and contextualized among those of other cases of mycetoma caused by other micro-organisms found through a review of the international literature. The rarity of the disease in industrialized countries and its possible atypical presentations may hinder a prompt diagnosis.

Smoke exposure and circulating progenitor cells: evidence for modulation of antioxidant enzymes and cell count.

Background: Cigarette smoking is involved in vascular inflammation and impairment of circulating progenitor cells (CPCs), including endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). The study aim was to evaluate the redox balance of these cells in relation to smoking exposure.

Methods: Circulating cells from 36 healthy smokers and 26 controls were isolated and identified by flow cytometry.