Comparison of the 2013 and 2019 Nationwide Surveys on the Management of Chronic Kidney Disease by General Practitioners in Japan.

In 2019, the Japan Physicians Association conducted a second nationwide survey on the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) among the Japanese general practitioners (GPs). We aimed to clarify the changes in the state of CKD medical care by GPs since the 2013 survey. The 2013 and 2019 surveys included 2214 and 601 GPs, respectively, who voluntarily participated.

Nationwide questionnaire survey on the management of chronic kidney disease for general practitioners in Japan.

Background: In 2019, a nationwide questionnaire survey on the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was circulated to general practitioners (GPs) throughout Japan by The Japan Physicians Association. The aim was to assess the current state of CKD medical care in the country and evaluate the utilization of CKD-specific guidelines in the treatment by GPs.

Methods: The voluntary survey targeted all members of Japan Physicians Association, a nationwide organization consisting primarily of 15,000 GPs in clinics throughout the country.

Dialysate vascular endothelial growth factor is an independent determinant of serum albumin levels and predicts future withdrawal from peritoneal dialysis in uremic patients.

Peritoneal protein loss due to high peritoneal permeability may contribute to hypoalbuminemia and early withdrawal from peritoneal dialysis (PD) therapy in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. We have found that pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has anti-vasopermeability properties both in cell culture and animal models by counteracting the biological actions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). However, it remains unknown which clinical variables, including dialysate VEGF and PEDF, are associated with decreased serum albumin levels and could predict early withdrawal from the PD in ESRD patients.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine accumulates in the kidney during ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Ischemia/reperfusion injury is the leading cause of acute tubular necrosis. Nitric oxide has a protective role against ischemia/reperfusion injury; however, the role of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, in ischemia/reperfusion injury remains unclear. ADMA is produced by protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) and is mainly degraded by dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH).

Effects of switching from calcium carbonate to lanthanum carbonate on bone mineral metabolism in hemodialysis patients.

Phosphate binders are useful for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in hemodialysis (HD) patients. This study was performed to examine the effects of switching from calcium carbonate (CC) to lanthanum carbonate (LC) on bone mineral metabolism and inflammatory markers in HD patients. We conducted 29 stable HD patients receiving CC, which was replaced by LC and followed-up for 12 weeks.

Interstitial Foxp3-positive T cells may predict renal survival in patients with myeroperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated glomerulonephritis.

1. Regulatory T cells (T(reg)) and cytotoxic T cells (CTL) are involved in various immune diseases. However, the prognostic impact of T(reg) and CTL in patients with myeroperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated glomerulonephritis (MPO-ANCA-GN) is not well known.

Circulating matrix metalloproteinase-2 is an independent correlate of proteinuria in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background/aim: Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) has been implicated in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease. However, there is no knowledge about the correlations between serum levels of MMP-2, proteinuria and atherosclerosis in patients with CKD. We investigated whether serum MMP-2 levels were associated with proteinuria, intima media thickness (IMT), and the presence of carotid atherosclerotic plaque in CKD patients.