F-FDG-PET/MR imaging to monitor disease activity in large vessel vasculitis.

Disease-monitoring in large vessel vasculitis (LVV) is challenging. Simultaneous F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) provides functional assessment of vascular inflammation alongside high-definition structural imaging with a relatively low burden of radiation exposure. Here, we investigate the ability of PET/MRI to monitor LVV disease activity longitudinally in a prospective cohort of patients with active LVV.

Kidney replacement therapy: trends in incidence, treatment, and outcomes of myocardial infarction and stroke in a nationwide Scottish study.

Background And Aims: Patients with kidney failure have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease compared with the general population. Whilst temporal trends of myocardial infarction and stroke are declining in the general population, these have not been evaluated in patients with kidney failure. This study aimed to describe national trends in the incidence, treatment, and outcomes of myocardial infarction and stroke in patients with kidney failure (i.

Choroidal and retinal thinning in chronic kidney disease independently associate with eGFR decline and are modifiable with treatment.

In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), there is an unmet need for novel biomarkers that reliably track kidney injury, demonstrate treatment-response, and predict outcomes. Here, we investigate the potential of retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) to achieve these ends in a series of prospective studies of patients with pre-dialysis CKD (including those with a kidney transplant), patients with kidney failure undergoing kidney transplantation, living kidney donors, and healthy volunteers. Compared to health, we observe similar retinal thinning and reduced macular volume in patients with CKD and in those with a kidney transplant.

Endothelin blockade prevents the long-term cardiovascular and renal sequelae of acute kidney injury in mice.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common and associated with increased risks of cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease. Causative molecular/physiological pathways are poorly defined. There are no therapies to improve long-term outcomes.

Apelin is expressed throughout the human kidney, is elevated in chronic kidney disease & associates independently with decline in kidney function.

Aims: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is its commonest complication. The apelin system is a potential therapeutic target for CVD but data relating to apelin in CKD are limited. We examined expression of the apelin system in human kidney, and investigated apelin and Elabela/Toddler (ELA), the endogenous ligands for the apelin receptor, in patients with CKD.

Cardiovascular outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease and COVID-19: a multi-regional data-linkage study.

Background: Data describing cardiovascular outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are lacking. We compared cardiovascular outcomes of patients with and without COVID-19, stratified by CKD status.

Methods: This retrospective, multi-regional data-linkage study utilised individual patient-level data from two Scottish cohorts.

High-sensitivity cardiac troponin and the diagnosis of myocardial infarction in patients with kidney impairment.

The benefit and utility of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction in patients with kidney impairment is unclear. Here, we describe implementation of hs-cTnI testing on the diagnosis, management, and outcomes of myocardial infarction in patients with and without kidney impairment. Consecutive patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome enrolled in a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized controlled trial were included in this pre-specified secondary analysis.

Infective Endocarditis Hospitalizations and Outcomes in Patients With End-Stage Kidney Disease: A Nationwide Data-Linkage Study.

Background We investigated the clinical features, microbiology, and short- and long-term outcomes of incident infective endocarditis (IE) hospitalizations in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) requiring dialysis or with a kidney transplant over 25 years in Scotland. Methods and Results In this retrospective, population-based cohort study linking national hospitalization and mortality data, we identified patients with a history of ESKD and hospitalized with IE in Scotland between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2014. From January 1, 2008, individual IE hospitalizations were additionally linked to national microbiology data.

Clinical burden, risk factor impact and outcomes following myocardial infarction and stroke: A 25-year individual patient level linkage study.

Background: Understanding trends in the incidence and outcomes of myocardial infarction and stroke, and how these are influenced by changes in cardiovascular risk factors can inform health policy and healthcare provision.

Methods: We identified all patients 30 years or older with myocardial infarction or stroke in Scotland. Risk factor levels were determined from national health surveys.

Use of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin in Patients With Kidney Impairment: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

This randomized clinical trial examines the use of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin testing for patients with kidney impairment.

A National Registry Study of Patient and Renal Survival in Adult Nephrotic Syndrome.

Introduction: We aimed to determine the mortality rate, cause of death, and rate of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in adults with nephrotic syndrome (NS).

Methods: We conducted a national registry-based study, including all 522 adults who had a kidney biopsy for NS in Scotland in 2014-2017. We linked the Scottish Renal Registry to death certificate data.

Multimorbidity in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis: Results From a Longitudinal, Multicenter Data Linkage Study.

Objective: Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) is considered a chronic, relapsing condition. To date, no studies have investigated multimorbidity in AAV nationally. This study was undertaken to characterize temporal trends in multimorbidity and report excess health care expenditures associated with multimorbidities in a national AAV cohort from Scotland.

Correction to: Management of Hypertension in Chronic Kidney Disease.

This article was originally published under a CC By-NC 4.0 license, but has now been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Long-term outcomes in elderly patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Objective: ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a small vessel vasculitis that commonly presents in the elderly. However, there are few long-term outcome data for these patients. Here, we assessed long-term outcomes in a single-centre cohort of elderly patients with AAV.

Endothelin Receptor Antagonism Improves Lipid Profiles and Lowers PCSK9 (Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9) in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease.

Dyslipidemia is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Despite statins, many patients fail to adequately lower lipids and remain at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Selective ET (endothelin-A) receptor antagonists reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Management of Hypertension in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasingly prevalent condition globally and is strongly associated with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). Hypertension is both a cause and effect of CKD and affects the vast majority of CKD patients. Control of hypertension is important in those with CKD as it leads to slowing of disease progression as well as reduced CVD risk.

Chorioretinal thinning in chronic kidney disease links to inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease and there is an established association between vasculopathy affecting the kidney and eye. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel, rapid method for high-definition imaging of the retina and choroid. Its use in patients at high cardiovascular disease risk remains unexplored.

Implementation of an enhanced recovery programme following pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Objectives: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the implementation of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).

Methods: Patients undergoing PD were managed according to an ERAS protocol. Outcome measures included postoperative mortality, morbidity, hospitalization and 30-day readmission rate.

Automatic segmentation of brain white matter and white matter lesions in normal aging: comparison of five multispectral techniques.

White matter loss, ventricular enlargement and white matter lesions are common findings on brain scans of older subjects. Accurate assessment of these different features is therefore essential for normal aging research. Recently, we developed a novel unsupervised classification method, named 'Multispectral Coloring Modulation and Variance Identification' (MCMxxxVI), that fuses two different structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences in red/green color space and uses Minimum Variance Quantization (MVQ) as the clustering technique to segment different tissue types.