Successful prednisolone therapy in elderly patients with severe forms of henoch-schönlein purpura nephritis.

Introduction: Recently, Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) has been observed in elderly people, although it was believed to be uncommon in these subjects. The increased risks of developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in adults in comparison with children were highlighted by different studies; however, limited data are available on the treatment of HSP nephritis in adults.

Methods: Between 2002 and 2008, five elderly Japanese patients (>65 years old) (mean age, 68 years, ranging from 65 to 72) with severe forms of HSP nephritis were entered into a prospective study to evaluate prednisolone therapy on the outcome of nephropathy in terms of clinical symptoms and histopathological changes.

Patients with biopsy-proven nephrosclerosis and moderately impaired renal function have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease: 15 years' experience in a single, kidney disease center.

Background: Nephrosclerosis progresses slowly to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in only a small percentage of patients. However, because hypertension and nephrosclerosis are normally found simultaneously, nephrosclerosis is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). In turn, the onset of CVD may progress to further renal impairment.

Time to re-evaluate effects of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors on renal and cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic nephropathy.

The use of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, such angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin-II receptor blockers, to slow progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a large group dominated by elderly people in the real world is not supported by available evidence. Large-scale clinical trials had many faults, among them a lack of focus on the elderly. However, it would be difficult to conduct clinical trials of a similar scale in elderly CKD patients.

Long-term survival benefits of combined hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Recently, it was reported that concomitant hemodialysis (HD) in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients facilitated continuation of PD treatment and mitigated the deterioration of peritoneal function in patients with uremic symptoms and excess body fluid associated with loss of residual renal function. To determine the effect of combined HD and PD on patient and technique survival, we undertook a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent PD at Saitama Medical University Hospital between 1995 and 2010. We compared patients who started PD during 1995 2002 with those who started during 2003- 2010.

Decline of Renal Function and Progression of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Are Independently Determined in Chronic Kidney Disease Stages 3-5.

Unlabelled: Invasive and noninvasive methods for evaluating the effects of hemodynamics on progression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been proposed. Central aortic pressure (CAP) has been reported to be the best among selected measures of hemodynamics for predicting LVH. However, there are few studies examining the relation between longitudinal changes in CAP and renal dysfunction in patients with CKD.

Role of Pulse Wave Velocity in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Stages 3-5 on Long-Term Follow-Up.

Background: The relationship between arterial stiffness and kidney function has not been clearly demonstrated although observations of higher arterial stiffness in patients with advanced stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) were reported. In longitudinal analyses, there was no close association between basal arterial stiffness and progression of kidney function in the general population. In the present study, we assessed the relationship between arterial stiffness and progression of renal dysfunction in patients with CKD stages 3-5 using two types of measures of arterial stiffness, i.

Statin improves flow-mediated vasodilation in chronic kidney diseases.

Background. Numbers of drugs are required to manage patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Drug adherence is relatively poor in this population.

Aliskiren reduces morning blood pressure in hypertensive patients with diabetic nephropathy on hemodialysis.

Our previous study indicated that the exchange from an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) to aliskiren reduced morning blood pressure and albuminuria in hypertensive patients with diabetic nephropathy. We extended the above study and assessed the effects of exchanging from an ARB to aliskiren on home blood pressure in hypertensive patients with diabetic nephropathy on chronic hemodialysis. The patients who were persistently hypertensive despite antihypertensive therapy, including ARB, were considered as candidates for the exchange from the ARB to aliskiren.

New modality of dialysis therapy: peritoneal dialysis first and transition to home hemodialysis.

Recent studies have clearly demonstrated that start ing treatment with peritoneal dialysis (PD) is superior to starting with conventional hemodialysis (HD) because PD preserves residual renal function for a longer period. Similarly, because of the frequency of treatments, home HD (HHD) is also superior to conventional HD. The accumulated evidence suggests that a combination of PD and HHD might be a new and effective method for patients receiving dialysis therapy.

Early start of combination therapy with hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis prolongs survival and reduces cardiovascular events in male patients.

Although peritoneal dialysis (PD) has been recommended for initial dialysis therapy, a larger proportion of patients with end-stage renal disease choose hemodialysis (HD) instead. Several previous studies comparing the outcomes of these two therapies, including survival rates and cardiovascular events, have not clearly demonstrated the superiority of one over the other. Our recent study indicated that, compared with HD or PD alone, renal replacement therapy with HD and PD in combination prolongs survival and reduces cardiovascular events.

Combination therapy with hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Both continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and hemodialysis (HD) have their advantages regarding the treatment of patients with renal failure. In CAPD, solute removal is sometimes insufficient in patients who have a relatively large muscle mass that produces high levels of creatinine. To compensate for this deficiency, frequent exchanges and large peritoneal dialysate volumes are required.

Long-term effects of calcium antagonists on augmentation index in hypertensive patients with chronic kidney disease: a randomized controlled study.

Background: Our previous retrospective study showed that benidipine was superior to amlodipine (AM) for reducing proteinuria and preserving the augmentation index (AI) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: The present study enrolled CKD patients whose blood pressure was not well controlled by an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and a calcium channel blocker other than AM or azelnidipine (AZ). Either AM (5 mg) or AZ (16 mg) was prescribed randomly.

Does cinacalcet HCl, an oral calcimimetic agent for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism, improve arterial stiffness in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis?

Vascular calcification (VC) and arterial stiffness (AS) are major contributors to cardiovascular disease, and in chronic kidney disease, VC and AS are correlated. Disorders of calcium and phosphate metabolism contribute to the progression of VC and to increases in AS. The efficacy of cinacalcet (CIN) in reducing AS in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has not been determined.

Removal of the peritoneal dialysis catheter because of gastrointestinal disease in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: a single-center case series.

We previously reported that peritoneal dialysis (PD)-associated peritonitis is a major cause of PD catheter removal. Another major cause is disease of the gastrointestinal tract, including neoplasm and perforation. In the present study, we reviewed the records of patients who underwent catheter removal at our hospital for reasons other than peritoneal infection--and for gastrointestinal disease in particular.

Clinical presentation in patients more than 80 years of age at the start of peritoneal dialysis.

The age of new dialysis patients is rapidly increasing. In the present study, we examined clinical presentation in new peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients 80 years of age or older at our hospital. Data were collected from the records of patients newly starting continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) therapy between January 2005 and July 2010.

Testing a single monthly dose of darbepoetin alpha to maintain hemoglobin levels in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

The newly developed erythropoiesis agent darbepoetin alpha (DA) allows for once-monthly dosing in the treatment of anemia in patients on dialysis. This dosing schedule has prompted some studies to examine the efficacy of DA in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). In the present study, we assessed whether intravenous (IV) administration of DA once monthly is effective for maintaining hemoglobin levels near 10.

Noninvasive evaluation of kidney hypoxia and fibrosis using magnetic resonance imaging.

Interstitial fibrosis and hypoxia accelerate the progression of CKD, but clinical tools to quantitate these factors in patients are lacking. Here, we evaluated the use of two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, diffusion-weighted (DW)-MRI and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD)-MRI, to assess kidney fibrosis and hypoxia of the cortex in 142 patients with either diabetic nephropathy (n = 43), CKD without diabetes (n = 76), or acute kidney injury (AKI) (n = 23). Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of DW-MRI correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) in the diabetic nephropathy and CKD groups (r(2) = 0.

Survival of patients over 75 years of age on peritoneal dialysis therapy.

The number of elderly patients requiring dialysis therapy has been increasing in developed countries. Among elderly patients on dialysis, the incidence of death from cardiovascular complications has increased. Our objective was to study whether the presence of abnormal cardiac function at the initiation of peritoneal dialysis (PD) affects the prognosis of patients over the age of 75 years on PD therapy.

Efficacy and safety of ezetimibe and low-dose simvastatin as primary treatment for dyslipidemia in peritoneal dialysis patients.

We previously reported that the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was higher in patients receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) than in patients on hemodialysis (HD). One of the problems associated with reaching the LDL-C target during statin treatment of patients on CAPD is the emergence of laboratory or clinical side effects. The present study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of daily combined treatment with ezetimibe 10 mg and simvastatin 10 mg in patients receiving CAPD.

[Association between long-term smoking and hypertension and early-onset nodular glomerulosclerosis].

Diabetic nodular glomerulosclerosis, also known as Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome, is a specific pathological variant of diabetic nephropathy ; however, histological findings similar to diabetic nephropathy are observed occasionally without glucose intolerance. Therefore, such nodular glomerulosclerosis is called idiopathic nodular glomerulosclerosis. Several case reports that have been published recently indicate that smoking and hypertension, which are classical renal risk factors, may be attributed to this form of glomerular degeneration.

Granulomatous interstitial nephritis in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

We present a case of granulomatous interstitial nephritis (GIN) associated with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). GIN is a rare pathological finding noted in renal biopsy specimens. Furthermore, CLL does not usually cause GIN.

Time for reflection predicts the progression of renal dysfunction in patients with nondiabetic chronic kidney disease.

Our previous data indicated that both home blood pressure and arterial stiffness predicted the progression of renal dysfunction in the patients with chronic kidney diseases. In the present study, we examined both home blood pressure and the parameters of arterial stiffness as the indicator to the progression of chronic kidney diseases. Forty-two nondiabetic chronic kidney disease patients were enrolled and followed for 1 year.