FRAX prognostic and intervention thresholds in the management of major bone fractures in hemodialysis patients: A two-year prospective multicenter cohort study.

Purpose: The usefulness of FRAX in predicting major bone fractures in patients with end-stage kidney disease on maintenance hemodialysis treatment has been confirmed in previous studies. For meaningful clinical use, the prognostic and intervention FRAX thresholds need to be established.

Methods: The primary aim of our study was to calculate the optimal cut-off point of FRAX for the best prediction of an increased bone fracture risk in dialysis patients and additionally, to propose its intervention threshold, indicating the need for antifracture pharmacological treatment.

[Automatic regulation of sinus rhythm in patients with migraine].

The clinical symptoms of migraine point to autonomic disturbances, especially to disrupted regulation of the circulatory system and autonomic balance. Searching for more accurate autonomic system studies we turned to the spectral analysis of cardiac rhythm changes, that allows to estimate the autonomic balance in sinus node. 44 patients with migraine were studied and the results were compared with those obtained in 74 healthy subjects.

[Prevention and treatment of uremic autonomic neuropathy].

The autonomic impairment, which is the frequent complication of end-stage renal failure, may eventually trigger numerous crippling consequences. It is doubtful if standard dialysis techniques may effectively treat once developed autonomic lesions. Renal transplantation seems to be much more efficient.

[Uremic autonomic neuropathy--pathogenesis, diagnostic methods].

Autonomic impairment is associated with poor prognosis in many diseases. The pathogenesis of the uremic autonomic neuropathy has not been convincingly established, so the article reviews available information on factors involved in its development, furthermore the authors put forward their own hypothetical scheme of the pathogenesis. The last section outlines the methods most commonly used for its diagnosis and finally the authors discuss symptoms suggestive of this neuropathy in clinical setting.

[Function of the autonomic nervous system in uremia].

Autonomic impairement is associated with poor prognosis in many diseases. The article (first of three parts) critically reviews arguments found in the literature showing autonomic dysfunction in chronic renal failure patients. The autonomic nervous system problems will become of great clinical relevance considering increasing number and age of uremic patients being dialysed worldwide.

Improved metabolite editing by the 1D soft COSY technique with 270 degrees Gaussian-shaped pulses.

Recently we proposed Gaussian-shaped pulses to overcome the dynamic range problem within a 1D Soft COSY pulse sequence for the editing of metabolites in their natural environment. Similar to the development of the application of a COSY technique, the ECZOTIC sequence was introduced for the same purpose. A brief comparison of the abilities of both sequences is given in the first part of this communication, and the second part deals with the improvement of phase behavior within 1D Soft COSY by use of 270 degrees pulses.

Detection of metabolites in body fluids and biological tissue by a 1D soft COSY technique.

With a semi-selective 1D COSY, related to the soft COSY sequence, metabolites with concentrations of a few millimolar can be detected, while highly abundant molecules as water or lipids are efficiently suppressed.