Acute Kidney Allograft Rejection Following Coronavirus mRNA Vaccination: A Case Report.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Multi-Disciplinary Vascular Access Care and Access Outcomes in People Starting Hemodialysis Therapy.

Background And Objectives: Fistulas, the preferred form of hemodialysis access, are difficult to establish and maintain. We examined the effect of a multidisciplinary vascular access team, including nurses, surgeons, and radiologists, on the probability of using a fistula catheter-free, and rates of access-related procedures in incident patients receiving hemodialysis.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We examined vascular access outcomes in the first year of hemodialysis treatment before (2004-2005, preteam period) and after the implementation of an access team (2006-2008, early-team period; 2009-2011, late-team period) in the Calgary Health Region, Canada.

Clinical trials in minimal change disease.

Minimal change disease (MCD) is a pathological condition characterized by subtle glomerular lesions causing massive and reversible proteinuria that is usually steroid sensitive. Recurrence of symptoms of active disease following successful treatment (including proteinuria, oedema and oliguria) and steroid toxicity requires the use of other drugs to attain or maintain remission. Unresolved MCD is considered the initial step in the pathological pathway leading to focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).

Atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease: struggling through thick and thin.

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation and the risk of stroke display an age-related increase in the chronic kidney disease (CKD) population. Evidence from large randomized controlled trials conducted in the general population supports the use of anticoagulation to reduce the risk of stroke in the setting of non-valvular atrial fibrillation. However, data in the non-dialysis-dependent and dialysis-dependent CKD populations are limited largely to observational studies, which demonstrate conflicting results regarding the risk-benefit profile of anticoagulation.

Real-time imaging of interactions between dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine monolayers and gelatin based nanoparticles using Brewster angle microscopy.

Given the current interest in the pulmonary route for targeted drug delivery, assessing the impact of drug delivery vehicles on the surfactant layer lining the surface of the lung alveoli is critical. As gelatin-based nanoparticles are one such vehicle, this study addresses their interaction with the major saturated phospholipid component of native lung surfactant, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC). Nanoparticles are colloidal particles in the size range of 1 to 1000 nm that are presently investigated for site-specific drug delivery in the emerging field of nanomedicine.

Size dependent interactions of nanoparticles with lung surfactant model systems and the significant impact on surface potential.

The relationship between a model pulmonary surfactant system and various sized nanoparticles was investigated in this study. Diplamitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) is the main lipid constituent of lung surfactant and has the ability to reach very high surface pressures (around 70 mN/m) upon compression. Due to these properties it was used as a model to simulate the lung surfactant film in vitro.

An elevated level of cholesterol impairs self-assembly of pulmonary surfactant into a functional film.

In adult respiratory distress syndrome, the primary function of pulmonary surfactant to strongly reduce the surface tension of the air-alveolar interface is impaired, resulting in diminished lung compliance, a decreased lung volume, and severe hypoxemia. Dysfunction coincides with an increased level of cholesterol in surfactant which on its own or together with other factors causes surfactant failure. In the current study, we investigated by atomic force microscopy and Kelvin-probe force microscopy how the increased level of cholesterol disrupts the assembly of an efficient film.