Effects of phosphate on vascular function under normal conditions and influence of the uraemic state.

Aims: Increased serum phosphorus levels are associated with cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and in the general population. High phosphate levels may play a direct role in vascular dysfunction. We investigated here the effects of phosphate loading and of the phosphate binder sevelamer-HCl on vascular function.

Chronic renal failure alters endothelial function in cerebral circulation in mice.

We examined structure, composition, and endothelial function in cerebral arterioles after 4 wk of chronic renal failure (CRF) in a well-defined murine model (C57BL/6J and apolipoprotein E knockout female mice). We also determined quantitative expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phosphorylated eNOS (on serine 1177 and threonine 495), and caveolin-1; quantitative expression of markers of vascular inflammation or oxidative stress [Rock-1, Rock-2, VCAM-1, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ)]; and the plasma concentration of L-arginine and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). Our hypothesis was that endothelial function would be impaired in cerebral arterioles during CRF following either a decrease in NO production (through alteration of eNOS expression or regulation) or an increase in NO degradation (due to oxidative stress or vascular inflammation).

Circulating levels of osteopontin are closely related to glomerular filtration rate and cardiovascular risk markers in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: The pleiotropic cytokine osteopontin (OPN) is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between OPN and renal function, a cardiovascular risk factor itself, is not known. Therefore, we assessed the relationship between OPN plasma levels and renal function in patients at different stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Removal of asymmetric dimethylarginine during artificial liver support using fractionated plasma separation and adsorption.

Objective: Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is the most potent endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. Elevated ADMA levels have been linked to increased mortality in different patient populations. Key regulation of ADMA levels mainly takes place in the liver.

Dosing of daptomycin in intensive care unit patients with acute kidney injury undergoing extended dialysis--a pharmacokinetic study.

Background: Daptomycin is a new intravenous cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic, licensed for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections caused by Gram-positive organisms including both susceptible and resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and for the treatment of various infections due to susceptible organisms, including serious and life-threatening Gram-positive infections, vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infections and right-sided endocarditis with associated bacteremia. Currently, no dosing recommendations exist for this drug for patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) undergoing renal replacement therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate pharmacokinetics of daptomycin in critically ill patients with AKI undergoing extended dialysis (ED), a frequently used mean of renal replacement therapies in intensive care units (ICUs) around the world.

Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) as endogenous marker of renal function--a meta-analysis.

Background: Dosing of most drugs must be adapted in renal insufficiency, making accurate assessment of renal function essential in clinical medicine. Furthermore, even modest impairment of renal function has been recognized as a cardiovascular risk factor. The purpose of this analysis was to identify the role of symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), the structural isomer of the cardiovascular risk marker asymmetric dimethylarginine, as an endogenous marker of renal function.