Low-dosage ibopamine treatment in progressive renal failure: a long-term multicentre trial.

A multicentre trial (11 nephrology centres) was carried out to test the effects of ibopamine, an orally active dopamine-like drug, on the progression of chronic renal failure. For a 2-year period 189 chronic renal failure patients (serum creatinine level 1.5-4.

Insulin therapy in uremic diabetic patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis; comparison of intraperitoneal and subcutaneous administration.

Objective: To compare, in diabetic uremic patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), the effects of two patterns of insulin administration, four times daily subcutaneous (SC) injections and intraperitoneal (IP) route, on blood glucose, insulin, lactate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and glycerol levels.

Patients And Methods: We examined 6 uremic insulin-dependent diabetic patients on CAPD. The two insulin regimens, SC and IP, were tested successively in randomized sequence in each patient.

Aging of silastic peritoneal catheters.

Increasing the survival of patients on CAPD is related to the long-term reliability of the peritoneal access. Six silicone Tenckhoff catheters (with strip or diffuse barium sulphate inclusion) removed after 39-69 months because of the appearance of external segment fissures, were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infra-red spectroscopy with attenuated total refractance (ATR). The extracorporeal portion of the catheters showed (by ATR) a more prominent oxidation peak on the external than the internal surface; SEM showed marks and cracks on the external surface and exfoliation and flattening of the silastic reticle on the intraluminal surface.

A multicenter, selection-adjusted comparison of patient and technique survivals on CAPD and hemodialysis.

Four hundred and eighty CAPD and 373 HD patients started regular dialysis treatment between 1981 and 1987 in 6 dialysis centers. The CAPD patients were 6 years older, on average, than the HD patients and had more complicating conditions (43.3% with 3 or more coexisting risk factors versus 28.

Dextran deposits in tissues of patients undergoing haemodialysis.

Recently the possible storage of dextran-related material in patients undergoing regular haemodialysis has been suggested. We examined biopsy and autopsy specimens of 32 patients treated with regular haemodialysis for 61 +/- 34 months. All patients received dextran-40 as a plasma expander because of hypotension during haemodialysis.

Renal lesions in familial lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency. Ultrastructural heterogeneity of glomerular changes.

Renal lesions of a new case of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency in an 18-year-old male are described. Large mesangial deposits and a sieve-like transformation of the peripheral basement membrane were the main glomerular lesions. Immunofluorescence identified C3 deposits in the mesangium.

Cryoimmunoglobulinemia in four sisters.

Mixed-typed cryoproteins, consisting of IgG and IgM, were demonstrated in the sera of four sisters. While the IgG component was polyclonal in every instance, in two of them the IgM component was found to be monoclonal with type chi light chains. Clinical diagnoses included the purpura-weakness-arthralgias syndrome, posthepatitis cirrhosis, congestive heart failure and mitral stenosis.

Retinol binding protein in serum and in urine of glomerular and tubular nephropathies.

RBP behavior was studied in different kidney diseases. Serum RBP was increased in chronic renal diseases when the serum creatinine increased. RBP clearance and RBP clearance as a percentage of albumin clearance increased when GFR decreased; this is more evident in tubular kidney diseases.