Documentation of 'Plant Drugs' dispensed via local weekly shanties of Madurai City, India.

Background: The Valaiyār (Moopanar) communities of Tamil Nadu are traditionally known for catching rats and snakes from the agricultural fields. Prior to independence, some of these families have faced socio-economic changes and chosen to become herbalists in Madurai city. They are mainly engaged in collecting and dispensing fresh and dried plant drugs in its 'natural form' at Tiḷagar tīḍal market of Madurai city.

Early nephrologist involvement in hospital-acquired acute kidney injury: a pilot study.

Background: The optimal timing of nephrology consultation in patients with hospital-acquired acute kidney injury (AKI) is unknown.

Study Design: Prospective controlled nonrandomized intervention study.

Setting & Participants: We screened daily serum creatinine (SCr) levels of 4,296 patients admitted to the St.

Collapsing glomerulopathy as a complication of interferon therapy for hepatitis C infection.

We present the case of a patient with chronic hepatitis C and diabetes, who rapidly progressed to end stage renal disease upon initiation of IFNalpha therapy for his HCV infection. A kidney biopsy revealed advanced collapsing glomerulopathy.