Overlap Syndrome of Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis, Sjögren Syndrome, and ANCA-Associated Renal-Limited Vasculitis: Three Entities in One Patient - Case Report.

Introduction: The presence of three different entities in a single patient is usually of clinical interest and mostly anecdotal. The overlap of systemic sclerosis (SSc), Sjögren syndrome (SS), and ANCA-associated renal-limited vasculitis has been reported only once previously.

Case Presentation: A 61-year-old female was evaluated at consultation with 2 years of symptomatology, presenting cardboard-like skin, sclerodactyly, limited oral opening, and dry skin and eyes.

Immunohistochemical analysis of caspase expression in the brains of individuals with obesity or overweight.

Mechanisms underlying the negative effects of obesity on the brain are still unknown. Obesity is associated with oxidative stress in the brain and neuroinflammation that promotes neurodegenerative diseases. Chronic low-grade neuroinflammation in obesity could be associated with lower volumes of gray matter and lower neuronal density.

Podocytopathy Associated with IgA Nephropathy in Pregnancy: A Challenging Association.

IgA nephropathy is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis. While associations of IgA and other glomerular diseases have been described, the association of IgA nephropathy with "primary" podocytopathy is rare and has not been reported in pregnancy, due in part to the infrequent use of kidney biopsy during pregnancy, and a frequent overlap with preeclampsia. We report the case of a 33-year-old woman with normal kidney function, referred in the 14th gestational week of her second pregnancy, due to nephrotic proteinuria and macroscopic hematuria.

Glomerular diseases in pregnancy: pragmatic recommendations for clinical management.

Our understanding of the various aspects of pregnancy in women with kidney diseases has significantly improved in the last decades. Nevertheless, little is known about specific kidney diseases. Glomerular diseases are not only a frequent cause of chronic kidney disease in young women, but combine many challenges in pregnancy: immunologic diseases, hypertension, proteinuria, and kidney tissue damage.

Kidney biopsy during pregnancy: a difficult decision. A case series reporting on 20 patients from Mexico.

Background: Kidney biopsy is a routine procedure in the diagnosis of kidney disease, but during pregnancy it carries potential adverse effects for both mother and child, aside from the challenges of obtaining adequate tissue samples. Nevertheless, a precise diagnosis is necessary when specific and potentially toxic treatments are to be used during pregnancy. The present report presents our experience with regard to the usefulness and safety of kidney biopsies during pregnancy.

Association between kidney biopsy findings in CKD patients with diabetes and renal replacement therapy initiation, a perspective from a low-middle income country.

Kidney disease in diabetes mellitus is usually explained by diabetic kidney disease, but other superimposed etiologies occur frequently. The distinction between diabetic kidney disease and non-diabetic kidney disease can only be made by performing kidney biopsy. Our objective was to evaluate the association of diabetic kidney disease, non-diabetic kidney disease, or both with renal replacement therapy initiation.

Differential Th follicular cell subsets in minor salivary glands of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus associated with Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: T follicular helper cells (Tfh) have been recognised in minor salivary glands (MSG) of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Nevertheless, if the Tfh1, Tfh2, Tfh17, Tfr phenotype is different when comparing pSS and associated SS in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is unknown.

Methods: We included MSG biopsies from 8 pSS, 8 SLE/SS patients, 7 SLE patients, and 2 non-SS sicca patients.

Collapsing Lesions and Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis in Pregnancy: A Report of 3 Cases.

The relationship between focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and pregnancy is complex and not completely elucidated. Pregnancy in patients with FSGS poses a high risk for complications, possibly due to hemodynamic factors, imbalance between angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors, and hormonal conditioning. Although poor clinical outcomes associated with collapsing FSGS are common outside of pregnancy, the prognosis during pregnancy is not well documented.

Acute IgA-Dominant Glomerulonephritis Associated with Syphilis Infection in a Pregnant Teenager: A New Disease Association.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasingly recognized as a risk factor in pregnancy; the differential diagnosis between CKD and preeclampsia (PE) may be of pivotal importance for pregnancy management and for early treatment of CKD. Acknowledging this connection may be useful also in a wider context, such as in the case reported in this paper, which for the first time describes an association between syphilis infection and IgA-dominant glomerulonephritis. A 16-year-old woman, referred to a general hospital due to a seizure, was found to be unknowingly pregnant.

Sticky Platelet Syndrome: An Unrecognized Cause of Acute Thrombosis and Graft Loss.

Introduction: Sticky platelet syndrome (SPS) is a prothrombotic disease that is not well recognized and difficult to diagnose.

Case Report: We present a case of a 49-year-old diabetic woman on ambulatory peritoneal dialysis therapy who underwent a kidney transplant from living-related donor. The donor was her sister with whom she shared one haplotype and absence of donor specific antibodies.

Classification of Acute Rejection Episodes in Kidney Transplantation: a Proposal Based on Factor Analysis.

Introduction: Kidney transplantation is considered the ideal treatment for end-stage renal disease. Acute rejection can influence graft survival. The aim of this study was to propose a classification system for acute rejection based on factor analysis.

Thrombotic microangiopathy in patients with diabetic nephropathy is associated with low VEGF expression and end-stage renal disease .

Background: Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) has been associated with diabetic nephropathy, but its pathogenesis is unknown.

Objectives: To determine the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in patients with TMA and diabetes mellitus.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective cohort study, patients were divided into diabetic nephropathy patients either without thrombotic microangiopathy (DN-TMA) or with thrombotic microangiopathy (DN+TMA).

A Postmortem Study of Frontal and Temporal Gyri Thickness and Cell Number in Human Obesity.

Objective: This study aimed to compare cortex thickness and neuronal cell density in postmortem brain tissue from people with overweight or obesity and normal weight.

Methods: The cortex thickness and neuron density of eight donors with overweight or obesity (mean = 31.6 kg/m ; SD = 4.

Biopsy-proven renal involvement and prognosis in 13 hispanic patients with primary Sjögren syndrome.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe a case series of 13 Hispanic patients with primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) and biopsy-proven renal involvement.

Methods: We describe the clinical, serological and histological characteristics as well as the prognosis in a group of patients with pSS and biopsy-proven renal involvement, treated in 2 referral nephrology units in Mexico City.

Results: Thirteen patients with pSS underwent kidney biopsy (KB) over a period of 27 years.

Assessment of urinary TWEAK levels in Mexican patients with untreated lupus nephritis: An exploratory study.

Objectives: Urinary levels of TWEAK (uTWEAK) may be correlated with the degree of lupus nephritis (LN) activity. Our objective was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of uTWEAK in Mexican patients with untreated active lupus nephritis.

Methods: An exploratory study was performed; four groups of patients were analyzed as follows: 1) patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without renal activity (SLE-LN), 2) patients with SLE with renal activity (SLE+LN), 3) patients with other types of glomerulopathy (glomerulonephritis, GMN), 4) and healthy patients (controls).

Mucinous cystadenoma of the pyelocaliceal system: a report of 3 examples and an analysis of 17 previously published cases.

We report 3 patients all men between 45 and 64 years of age with unilocular or multilocular mucinous cystadenomas of the kidney. One tumor arose from the renal pelvis, and 2 involved the entire pyelocaliceal system. The tumors measured between 2.

Similarities and differences between primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: To define the clinical, serological, and histopathological characteristics of primary (pSS) and secondary Sjögren's syndrome (SS).

Methods: Fifty subjects with pSS and 300 with connective tissue diseases (CTD; systemic lupus erythematosus 100, rheumatoid arthritis 100, scleroderma 100) were selected randomly from our patient registry. Selected patients were assessed for fulfillment of the American-European Consensus Group criteria for SS using a 3-phase approach: screening (European questionnaire, Schirmer-I test, wafer test), confirmatory (fluorescein staining test, nonstimulated whole salivary flow, anti-Ro/La antibodies), and lip biopsy (H&E and immunohistochemical staining for anti-CD20 and anti-CD45RO scored by morphometry).