Cephalic to jugular vein bypass surgery of subclavian vein stenosis for arteriovenous fistula salvage in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

Background: Ipsilateral subclavian vein stenosis in a well-functioning upper extremity arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is a significant factor contributing to AVF failure and sometimes swelling of ipsilateral upper extremity. Graft bypass surgery can alleviate outflow tract stenosis in upper extremity AVF, restore function, and efficiently relieve arm swelling. The present study aimed to evaluate patency and postoperative complications after cephalic to jugular graft bypass surgery in patients with upper extremity AVF failure or upper extremity swelling on the same side of the AVF resulting from ipsilateral subclavian vein stenosis.

Combined effect of ozone and household air pollution on COPD in people aged less than 50 years old.

Objectives: Air pollution has been suggested as an important risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, evidence of interactive effects on COPD between different factors was sparse, especially for young adults. We aimed to assess the combined effects of ambient ozone (O) and household air pollution on COPD in young individuals.

Methods: We conducted a population-based study of residents aged 15-50 years in the low-income and middle-income regions of western China.

Ambient particulate matter associates with asthma in high altitude region: A population-based study.

Background: Exposure to particulate matter (PM) has been a major public health threat, but the potentially differential effects on asthma of PM remain largely unknown in high altitude settings. We evaluated the effects of ambient PM on asthma in high altitude settings.

Methods: The study recruited a representative sample from high altitude settings using a multistage stratified sampling procedure.

Plasmapheresis compared with conventional treatment for hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The treatment of acute pancreatitis (AP) induced by hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) remains controversial with regard to plasmapheresis vs conventional treatment. We reviewed relevant articles to explore the efficacy of plasmapheresis in the management of HTG-induced AP.

Methods: We systematically reviewed studies that compared plasmapheresis with conventional treatment for HTG-induced AP using three databases: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, as well as relevant references.

Solid Fuel Exposure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Never-Smokers.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a public health challenge globally. The burden of COPD is high in never-smokers but little is known about its causes. We aimed to find the prevalence and correlates of COPD in never-smokers, with a special focus on solid fuel exposure.

Weekly pattern of dialysis unit blood pressure is a promising marker for prognosis evaluation in hemodialysis population.

Background: Dialysis unit blood pressure (BP) pattern showed superiority in prognostic evaluation and interdialytic BP burden assessment. However previous studies mainly focused on the recurrent BP pattern within a session (intradialytic BP change or intradialytic BP slope), the clinical value of the weekly pattern of dialysis unit BP is unknown.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study in adult end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on thrice weekly hemodialysis (HD).

Association of lipoprotein(a) and coronary artery disease in 1003 patients with stage 3-5 chronic kidney disease undergoing coronary angiography.

Aim: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, the role of Lp(a) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between Lp(a) levels and the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and the severity of coronary artery stenosis (CAS) in patients with stage 3-5 CKD.

Artemisinin attenuates tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis via the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway in rats with 5/6 subtotal nephrectomy.

Artemisinin (Art) is isolated from Artemisia annua L. and known as the most effective antimalaria drugs. Previous studies demonstrated that it could exert an immune-regulatory effect on autoimmune diseases.

Peridialysis BP levels and risk of all-cause mortality: a dose-response meta-analysis.

Blood pressure (BP) management posed great challenge in hemodialysis (HD) population. We conducted a dose-response meta-analysis to investigate the quantitative features and the potential threshold effect of the associations between peridialysis BP levels and all-cause mortality risk in HD population. We searched all of the prospective cohort studies (published before 18 March 2017) on the associations between peridialysis BP levels and all-cause mortality risk.

Hydroxychloroquine attenuates renal ischemia/reperfusion injury by inhibiting cathepsin mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Inflammation is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI), which complicates the post-operative outcomes of large numbers of hospitalized surgical patients. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a well-known anti-malarial drug, is commonly used in clinical practice for its anti-inflammatory actions. However, little is known about its role in renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

mROS-TXNIP axis activates NLRP3 inflammasome to mediate renal injury during ischemic AKI.

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) is a critical risk factor for acute kidney injury (AKI). Recent studies provided evidence that tubular epithelial cells (TEC)-associated inflammation aggravates kidney injury and impairs tissue repair after I/R injury. Here we demonstrated that the Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is activated by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) during I/R injury via direct interactions between the inflammasome and thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP).

Are Urinary Tubular Injury Markers Useful in Chronic Kidney Disease? A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis.

Background: Adverse outcome of chronic kidney disease, such as end stage renal disease, is a significant burden on personal health and healthcare costs. Urinary tubular injury markers, such as NGAL, KIM-1 and NAG, could provide useful prognostic value for the early identification of high-risk patients. However, discrepancies between recent large prospective studies have resulted in controversy regarding the potential clinical value of these markers.

The characteristics and mortality risk factors for acute kidney injury in different age groups in China-a cross sectional study.

Aim: Age is an independent risk factor for acute kidney injury (AKI). The causes and outcomes of AKI in children, middle-aged, and older patients are different. The objective of this country-based study was to identify the characteristics and mortality factors for AKI in different age groups in China.

Cinacalcet ameliorates aortic calcification in uremic rats via suppression of endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Aim: Experimental studies found that cinacalcet (CINA) markedly attenuated vascular calcification in uremic rats, but its underlying mechanisms are still largely unknown. Recent evidence have demonstrated that endothelial cells (ECs) participate in ectopic calcification in part by mediating endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). In this study, we investigated whether CINA ameliorated aortic calcification in uremic rats via suppression of EndMT.

Hospital-acquired acute kidney injury: an analysis of baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate and in-hospital mortality.

Aim: The objective of this study was to determine whether the baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) level was independently associated with in-hospital mortality in generalized patients with hospital-acquired acute kidney injury (HA-AKI) in China.

Methods: All of the patients admitted to a tertiary medical center of Nanjing, China, between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013, were involved. Through the use of an electronic database and the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) classification, the patients with HA-AKI were indentified.

[Effect of Cordyceps sinensis powder on renal oxidative stress and mitochondria functions in 5/6 nephrectomized rats].

Objective: To observe the effect of Cordyceps sinensis (CS) powder on renal oxidative stress and mitochondria functions in 5/6 nephrectomized rats, and to primarily explore its possible mechanisms.

Methods: Totally 30 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the sham-operation group, the model group, and the treatment group by random digit table, 10 in each group. A chronic kidney disease (CKD) rat model was prepared by one step 5/6 nephrectomy.

[Pulmonary mucormycosis: report of 5 cases and review of 46 cases reported in China].

Objective: To describe the clinical manifestations and diagnosis of pulmonary mucormycosis.

Methods: We presented 5 proven diagnosed cases of pulmonary mucormycosis in our hospital and reviewed all proven cases of pulmonary mucormycosis previously reported in mainland China. Publications in the form of case reports and articles between January 1982 and December 2011 were searched from Wan Fang Data and China Hospital Knowledge Database.

Cinacalcet attenuates the renal endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in rats with adenine-induced renal failure.

Elevated serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) is an important complicated phenomenon in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Emerging evidence indicates the involvement of PTH in organ fibrosis, and suppression of PTH by cinacalcet (CINA) ameliorates the progression of fibrotic disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown.

CD2AP mRNA in urinary exosome as biomarker of kidney disease.

Aims: Podocyte injury plays an important role in the pathogenesis of kidney disease. Urinary exosomes are microvesicles released by tubular epithelial cells and podocytes containing information of their originated cells. This study investigated for the first time whether podocyte related mRNA in urinary exosome could serve as novel biomarkers for kidney disease.

FTY720 attenuates tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis in subtotally nephrectomized rats.

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a common pathway that leads to kidney failure, and persistent tubulointerstitial inflammation is a key event in the development of tubulointerstitial fibrosis. The new immunosuppressive drug FTY720 modifies lymphocyte migration into injured tissues by sequestering lymphocytes within secondary lymphoid organs. However, its therapeutic effect on tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis had not been well understood.

Inhibition of TGF-β1/Smad signal pathway is involved in the effect of Cordyceps sinensis against renal fibrosis in 5/6 nephrectomy rats.

Unlabelled: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Cordyceps sinensis on renal fibrosis and its possible mechanisms. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham operation (SHAM) group, 5/6 subtotal nephrectomy (SNx) untreated group, and 5/6 subtotal nephrectomy treated with C. sinensis (2.

Pirfenidone inhibits macrophage infiltration in 5/6 nephrectomized rats.

Tubulointerstitial macrophage infiltration is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease involved in the progression of renal fibrosis. Pirfenidone is a newly identified antifibrotic drug, the potential mechanism of which remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pirfenidone on M1/M2 macrophage infiltration in nephrectomized rats.