Is there an association among spirituality, resilience and empathy in medical students?

Background: Spirituality has religious and nonreligious dimensions and is often linked to well-being, positive emotions, connection and meaning in life. Both empathy and resilience are important in medical training and future professional practice since they are considered core skills related to professionalism and patient care. Our study aimed to understand the relationships among spirituality, resilience, and empathy in medical students.

A review of Covid-19 and acute kidney injury: from pathophysiology to clinical results.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is associated with higher mortality and a worse prognosis. Nevertheless, most patients with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, and about 5% can develop more severe symptoms and involve hypovolemia and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. In a pathophysiological perspective, severe SARS-CoV-2 infection is characterized by numerous dependent pathways triggered by hypercytokinemia, especially IL-6 and TNF-alpha, leading to systemic inflammation, hypercoagulability, and multiple organ dysfunction.

COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease: a comprehensive review.

Kidney impairment in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with increased in-hospital mortality and worse clinical evolution, raising concerns towards patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). From a pathophysiological perspective, COVID-19 is characterized by an overproduction of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-alpha), causing systemic inflammation and hypercoagulability, and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Emerging data postulate that CKD under conservative treatment or renal replacement therapy (RRT) is an important risk factor for disease severity and higher in-hospital mortality amongst patients with COVID-19.

Rheumatoid vasculitis - Case report.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease and its main manifestation is persistent synovitis affecting peripheral joints symmetrically, In spite of its destructive potential, the evolution of RA is highly variable. Some patients may have only a short-term process oligoarticular with minimum lesion, while others suffers a polyarthritis evolving with progressive and continuous involvement of other organ systems such as skin, heart, lungs, muscles and blood vessels rarely leading to rheumatoid vasculitis. The aim of this study was to describe a case of rheumatoid vasculitis a rare and severe condition.

Experimentally induced metabolic acidosis in rabbits modulates the interaction of aortic glycosaminoglycan with plasma low-density lipoprotein--an interesting observation about the association of acidosis and atherosclerosis.

It is well established that arterial glycosaminoglycans (GAG) undergo compositional and structural modifications during the development of atherosclerosis. On the other hand, metabolic acidosis is a common feature of chronic renal patients known to present accelerated atherogenesis. The present study was performed to determine the influence of acidosis in the modifications of aortic GAG in a model of atherosclerosis in rabbits.

Renal functional reserve in obesity hypertension.

The capacity to increase glomerular filtration rate in response to an acute oral protein load is known as the renal functional reserve; the loss of such capacity is used as a marker of hyperfiltration. This physiological response in obese hypertensives is not yet fully understood. We aimed to study the interdependent effects of obesity and hypertension on renal reserve, taking into account renal kallikrein and nitric oxide in the modulation of that parameter.

Effects of molecular size and chemical structure on renal and hepatic removal of exogenously administered chondroitin sulfate in rats.

Chondroitin sulfate, a glycosaminoglycan that is widely distributed among mammals, is used as a therapeutic agent in various diseases. Here, we focus on its absorption, excretion and tissue accumulation in rats. The concentration of 35S-chondroitin sulfate (35S-CS) in plasma reaches a peak in the first 5 min after intravenous administration and simultaneously increases in the urine.

Effects of low molecular weight heparin in obstructed kidneys: decrease of collagen, fibronectin and TGF-beta, and increase of chondroitin/dermatan sulfate proteoglycans and macrophage infiltration.

Background: Heparin exerts beneficial effects in different experimental models of nephropathy, as observed by the preservation of the structural morphology of the kidney after heparin therapy. Here we investigate molecular and cellular events involved in the protective effects of heparin in the progression of renal disease after unilateral ureteral obstruction.

Methods: Thirty-six rats were divided into six groups: group C (control) was not subjected to any surgical manipulation; group S (sham) was subjected to surgical manipulation but without ureteral ligation; group UUO was subjected to ureteral obstruction and received no treatment; group UUO + S was subjected to ureteral obstruction and received saline subcutaneously (s.

Effects of mycophenolate mofetil and lisinopril on collagen deposition in unilateral ureteral obstruction in rats.

Background/aims: Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in rats has been used as a model of renal interstitial fibrosis, in which therapeutic trials can be of important clinical relevance. In this study, we investigated the effects of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor lisinopril (L), and the combination of both drugs, given daily for 14 days to UUO rats, on the renal fibrogenic process triggered by UUO.

Methods: Rats underwent surgical UUO, followed by treatment with daily doses of either MMF, lisinopril, or both, and were then sacrificed after 14 days.