Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) Predicts Renal Function Decline in Patients With Glomerular Diseases.

Objective: Available biomarkers for monitoring primary glomerulonephritides (GNs), often lack the ability to assess longitudinal changes and have great variability with poor sensitivity. Accruing evidence has demonstrated that Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL), holds promising capacities in predicting renal function worsening in various renal diseases. We aimed at analyzing urinary NGAL (uNGAL) levels in a cohort of individuals with biopsy-proven GNs in order to evaluate its ability to reflect the entity of renal damage and to predict disease evolution overtime.

How to improve duration and efficiency of the antiproteinuric response to Ramipril: RamiPROT-a prospective cohort study.

Background: The antiproteinuric pharmacokinetics of Ramipril in response to different doses and modalities of administration has been poorly investigated so far.

Study Design: Prospective, open-label and not placebo controlled study.

Setting And Participants: 40 Caucasian adult patients having GFR ≥ 50 mL/min, proteinuria 1-3 g/day; SBP/DBP ≤ 150/90 mmHg were recruited between June 2014 and November 2014.

Direct inhibition of plasmatic renin activity with aliskiren: a promising but under-investigated therapeutic option for non-diabetic glomerulonephritis.

Non-diabetic glomerulonephritis is a frequent cause of end-stage renal disease. The use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers is a fundamental therapeutic approach. However, converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-is) and angiotensin receptor blockers do not always achieve the desired target of proteinuria.

[Is it feasible to improve the duration and the efficiency of Ramipril anti-proteinuric response?].

Background: Ramipril administered once daily is characterized by an attenuation of its pharmacological activity in the following 24 hours, whose effects on antiproteinuric activity have not yet been investigated.

Methods: The antiproteinuric efficacy of Ramipril has been evaluated in a cross-over study in 20 patients with renal disease, proteinuria and hypertension (GFR50 mL / min, proteinuria <3 g / day; SBP/DBP 150/90 mmHg). Proteinuria was measured over 24 hours on three consecutive urine collections (morning, afternoon and night) in the absence of antiproteinuric drugs and after ten days of treatment with single morning administration of Ramipril 2.

An uncommon presentation of an uncommon nephropathy: the karyomegalic interstitial nephritis.

Karyomegalic interstitial nephritis (KIN) is a rare and certainly underdiagnosed nephropathy. It is characterized by a peculiar histological picture of interstitial nephritis associated with the presence of hyperchromatic, abnormally enlarged nuclei of tubular epithelial cells. KIN has an uncertain etiology, but should be suspected in young patients in the second or third decade of life presenting with progressive renal failure, proteinuria and/or hematuria and a history of recurrent respiratory infections.

Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors reduce the progression of mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis: 10 year follow-up.

Background: Proteinuria is a common presentation of mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN). No studies are available on the long-term effect of treatment by renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors on renal outcome in MsPGN patients. This study prospectively evaluates the effects of RAS inhibitors on renal outcome in patients with low risk MsPGN followed up for 10 years using historical patients with similar features at the time of presentation as untreated controls.

Cool temperature hemodialysis and biocompatibility in chronic hemodialysis patients: a preliminary study.

Background: Cooler temperature dialysate (TD) has gained in popularity in the treatment of hypotension during hemodialysis (HD). In this study we verified the hypothesis of an eventual involvement of cytokines.

Methods: Four patients on regular HD underwent two 4-hour HD sessions once at 37 degrees C TD and once at 35 degrees C TD.

Can young adult patients with proteinuric IgA nephropathy perform physical exercise?

Background: It is not known whether physical exercise increases daily proteinuria in patients with proteinuric nephropathies, thus accelerating progression of the renal lesion. This study evaluates the acute effects of physical exercise on proteinuria in young adults with immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy.

Methods: Changes induced by intense physical exercise on quantitative and qualitative proteinuria were evaluated in basal conditions and after 10 days of ramipril therapy in 10 patients with IgA nephropathy, normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR), proteinuria between 0.