Urinary endothelin in glomerulonephritis patients with normal renal function.

The vasoconstrictor peptide endothelin-1 (ET1) has only recently been characterized and its effects are at present largely speculative. It has been hypothesized that ET1 acts on mesangial cells to cause vasoactive changes which might ultimately contribute to the development of glomerulosclerosis. Opposite to ET1, nitric oxide (NO) inhibits mesangial cell contraction and proliferation.

Inactivation of rabbit red blood cell hexokinase activity promoted in vitro by an oxygen-radical-generating system.

Rabbit red blood cell hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.

[Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD). Experience in 42 patients].

Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) is currently considered as one of the most attractive home treatments for uremic patients. However, relevant costs and the presence of a dialysis machine prevent a wider diffusion of this technique. In this work we discuss the results obtained in 42 patients (12 females, 30 males) treated by two dialysis units of the Piedmont Region.

[The value of albumin and cholesterol blood levels as indicators of the risk of death in dialysis. Working Group of the Piedmont Registry of Dialysis and Transplantation].

In recent years, the availability of large epidemiological series allowed identification of biochemical outcome markers in the dialysis population. Interest towards albumin and cholesterol levels is motivated by their easy availability and by the presence of a strong short-term effect on mortality and morbidity. The aim of the study was an analysis of the relationship between albumin and cholesterol levels at start of dialysis and mortality (gross mortality and Kaplan Meier survival curves).

[Surgical interventions in dialysis patients in Piedmont: data from the Regional Registry. Working Group of the Piedmont Registry of Dialysis and Transplantation].

In this work surgical events in a large population of chronic dialysis patients are analysed. Data are obtained from the Regional (Piedmont) Registry of Dialysis and Transplantation (RPDT), that has collected information since 1981 about all chronic dialysis patients in the Region. Since 1984, causes of admission to-hospital are registered.

[Dialysis treatments outside the hospital].

In the early sixties a dramatic lack of hospital dialysis facilities prompted the development of home dialysis programs. The same reasons favoured in Turin, several years later, the start of a home-dialysis program and of the first European self dialysis program in an out-of-hospital setting. In the following years continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis was begun.

Functional consequences of the binding of gliadin to cultured rat mesangial cells: bridging immunoglobulin A to cells and modulation of eicosanoid synthesis and altered cytokine production.

Oral immunization with gliadin (GLI) can induce immunoglobulin A mesangial deposits (IgA nephropathy [IgAN]) in mice. A role for GLI in human IgAN has been inferred from an association with celiac disease, increased serum anti-GLI IgA in patients with IgAN, and benefit from a gluten-free diet observed in some IgAN patients. These effects might be due to the antigenic or lectinic properties of GLI.

Cell density-dependent regulation of ATP levels during the growth cycle of cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells show a cell density-dependent modification of ATP levels during the growth cycle. Cells were seeded at a density of 500,000 cells/75 cm2 flask in 10 ml of growth medium and at various time intervals, samples were taken and assayed for cell number, for adenine (ATP, ADP, AMP) and pyridine (NAD+, NADP+) nucleotide levels and for the activity of some glycolytic enzymes. Glucose consumption was also evaluated.

Experimental IgA nephropathy secondary to hepatocellular injury induced by dietary deficiencies and heavy alcohol intake.

Background: In humans, alcoholic liver disease is frequently associated with IgA mesangial deposits, microscopic hematuria and a small amount of proteinuria, identifying a secondary form of IgA nephropathy. Alcoholic liver disease is almost always associated with nutritional deficiencies.

Experimental Design: In order to examine the relationship between alcohol intake and/or inadequate diet and IgA nephropathy, groups of 4 week-old-male Lewis rats were maintained on a lipotrope-deficient (LD) diet (N = 20), intragastric infusions of a commercial whiskey (1.

[Abnormal erythrocyte sodium transport in patients with adult polycystic kidney and hypertension].

The aim of this work was to evaluate the intracellular Na concentration, the passive Na permeability and the activity of Na, K pump, Na, K cotransport, Na, Li countertransport in the red cells of patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) in relationship with their blood pressure status. Sixteen patients with ADPKD and normal renal function (6 males, 10 females, median age 31.5 years, range 20-42 years) and twenty healthy controls (10 males, 10 females, median age 30 years, range 23-47 years) were studied.

Angiotensin II local hyperreactivity in the progression of IgA nephropathy.

Immunologic and hemodynamic factors are likely to work in synergism in the progression of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) toward sclerosis. The local activation of the renin-angiotensin system may be one the most relevant mechanisms. We investigated the hemodynamic effects of the acute administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) (captopril 50 mg).

Death in conditions of cachexia: the price for the dialysis treatment of the elderly?

Death in conditions of cachexia is increasing in potential dialysis patients, as treated cohorts are aging, the mean age of new patients increased and access to treatment is unlimited. The present study analyzes the clinical features of 417 deaths in conditions of cachexia recorded in 1981 to 1990 in the Dialysis and Transplantation Registry of a northern Italian region, Piedmont (about 4,400,000 inhabitants, 20 dialysis centers; 4,734 patients on file at December 31, 1990; yearly information on 100% of the cases). Death in conditions of cachexia increased from 105 cases in the first four years taken into account (1981 to 1984), to 107 in the last two years (1989 to 1990).

Diabetic patients on dialysis: a changing picture.

Prevalence of diabetic patients on dialysis is often considered a marker of overall acceptance rate for dialysis; however, even when acceptance policy is open, incidence of diabetic patients varies widely. Epidemiological differences of diabetes incidence all over the world partly explain the discrepancies. Incidence of diabetic patients accepted for dialysis (1981 to 82: 6 p.

Role of monocytes in cryoglobulinemia-associated nephritis.

Several monocyte-macrophage functions were found to be defective in cryoglobulinemic patients. Nevertheless, monocytes actively phagocytizing cryoglobulins have been frequently found in kidney specimens from these patients. Whether subsequent degradation of the ingested immune material is effective, however, is still unknown.

Sodium-lithium countertransport activity in red blood cells of patients with IgA nephropathy.

In this paper we report some results of our studies on patients with immunoglobulin (Ig)A nephropathy regarding (1) the familiar aggregation of erythrocyte sodium-lithium (Na,Li) countertransport; (2) the association of Na,Li countertransport with the presence of arterial hypertension and lipid abnormalities; (3) the correlation between Na,Li countertransport activity and renal functional reserve; and (4) the preliminary results of a longitudinal study. In 13 families of patients with IgA nephropathy, selected because both parents were available, we found a significant correlation between midparent and offspring Na,Li countertransport activity (Spearman's rank correlation = 0.65; P = 0.

Soluble interleukin-2 receptors and beta 2-microglobulin in patients with primary glomerulonephritis.

Serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptors (IL2R) and of beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2M) were studied with the immunoenzymatic technique in 38 patients with primary glomerulonephritis (GN), in 10 patients with essential hypertension (EH) and in 30 healthy subjects. IL2R correlated with beta 2M (p < 0.05).

[Heart valve involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus: an echocardiographic study].

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spectrum of morphologic and functional cardiac involvement in a selected population of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by means of echocardiography. Thirteen patients (2 male and 11 female) affected by SLE, mean age 41.9 years (range, 21-64), underwent M-Mode, two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography.