Contribution of the MDRD equation and of cystatin C for renal function estimates in cancer patients.

Background: Serum creatinine (SCr) and Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance (CG CrCL) are used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Other markers have been proposed including serum cystatin C (cysC) and the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) study equation.

Patients And Methods: We have compared the diagnostic performances of SCr, cysC, CG CrCL, and the MDRD equation in 144 cancer patients.

Cystatin C as a new covariate to predict renal elimination of drugs: application to carboplatin.

Background And Objective: The individual dosing of drugs that are mainly eliminated unchanged in the urine is made possible by assessing renal function. Most of the methods used are based on serum creatinine (SCr) levels. Cystatin C (CysC) has been proposed as an alternative endogenous marker of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

Variations in the sequence and expression of the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (Pfcrt) and their relationship to chloroquine resistance in vitro.

Chloroquine has been widely used for malaria treatment and prophylaxis for several decades, but its usefulness has now declined with the emergence of chloroquine resistance. Recent studies showed that the K76T mutation in the PfCRT protein, initially associated to chloroquine-resistant parasites, is sometimes also present in susceptible parasites, suggesting that other factors control the expression of the resistance phenotype. Here, we sought new mutations in the Pfcrt gene and used real-time PCR to investigate variations in the expression level of this gene with respect to the in vitro response to chloroquine.