A pilot biomonitoring study of air pollution in the urban area of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: genotoxicity assessment in buccal cells.

Air pollution, recognized as a human carcinogen, is a significant cause of death in industrial and developing countries, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is one of the leading countries for air pollution-caused death rate and has the poorest urban air quality in Europe. Despite a population decrease, urban air pollution in B&H has increased due to traffic pollution and still intensive use of solid fuel for heating and cooking. Human biomonitoring studies, regarding the described air pollution, have not been conducted before, and particularly have not been conducted in the region of Sarajevo.

VO prior to transplant differentiates survival post kidney transplant.

The OPTN/UNOS utilizes the calculated estimated posttransplant survival (EPTS) score as the measure of post-kidney transplant survival to guide allocation of deceased donor kidney transplantation. This score does not include any metric of functional capacity. Peak oxygen uptake (VO ), is an established predictor of survival among both the general and diseased populations.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness (Peak Oxygen Uptake): Safe and Effective Measure for Cardiovascular Screening Before Kidney Transplant.

Background: Significant heterogeneity exists in practice patterns and algorithms used for cardiac screening before kidney transplant. Cardiorespiratory fitness, as measured by peak oxygen uptake (VO), is an established validated predictor of future cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in both healthy and diseased populations. The literature supports its use among asymptomatic patients in abrogating the need for further cardiac testing.

Glucose homeostasis after simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation: a comparison of subjects with C-peptide-positive non-type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Background: While simultaneous pancreas kidney transplant (SPKTx) is a therapeutic option for patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and renal failure, few centers offer SPKTx to "select" non-T1DM patients. To address concerns that existing insulin resistance may limit the benefits of the pancreas allograft among non-T1DM, we compared several indices of glucose homeostasis, in "select" non-T1DM and T1DM patients who received SPKTx.

Methods: Criteria for "select" non-T1DM included the following: positive C-peptide, BMI <30 kg/m(2) , treatment with oral agents before insulin initiation, and insulin at <1 unit/kg/d.

Genetic differences in Native Americans and tacrolimus dosing after kidney transplantation.

Tacrolimus pharmacokinetics vary due to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in metabolizing enzymes and membrane transporters that alter drug elimination. Clinically we observed that Native Americans require lower dosages of tacrolimus to attain trough levels similar to Caucasians. We previously demonstrated that Native Americans have decreased oral clearance of tacrolimus, suggesting that Native Americans may have more variant SNPs and, therefore, altered tacrolimus pharmacokinetic parameters.