Reduction in ACE2 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells during COVID-19 - implications for post COVID-19 conditions.

Background: Severe COVID-19 is uncommon, restricted to 19% of the total population. In response to the first virus wave (alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2), we investigated whether a biomarker indicated severity of disease and, in particular, if variable expression of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in blood might clarify this difference in risk and of post COVID -19 conditions (PCC).

Methods: The IRB-approved study compared patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 to healthy controls.

A Rare Presentation of IgA Nephropathy in a 62-Year-Old Hispanic Female.

A case of immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy is presented here that demonstrates an unusual clinical presentation in multiple ways and is vitally important for clinicians to consider. The patient is a Hispanic female in her 7th decade of life that presented with nephrotic-range proteinuria without hematuria ultimately leading to a diagnosis of IgA nephropathy. After diagnosis, her clinical course was complicated by continued poorly controlled type II diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and ultimately her kidney disease progressed to chronic kidney disease IV and then end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis.

A Case of COVID-Associated Nephropathy (COVAN).

Collapsing glomerulopathy is a variant of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) causing rapid renal failure. There has been an emergence of these cases among African American patients with COVID-19, especially those with the apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) allele. We present a case of an African American patient with COVID-19 who tested positive for the APOL1 allele in the setting of acute renal deterioration.

Streptococcus intermedius Bacteremia and Pyogenic Liver Abscess in a Patient With No Risk Factors.

This case report depicts a 39-year-old male with no significant past medical history who was admitted for fever of unknown origin and sepsis. He was then found to have bacteremia and pyogenic liver abscess. The treatment course was complicated by pleural empyema leading to readmission.

A Case of De Novo Membranous Nephropathy Causing Renal Transplant Rejection.

We present a novel case of de novo membranous nephropathy (DNMN) leading to transplant rejection in a 51-year-old female patient. The patient has a transplant history of two renal transplants for end-stage renal disease due to lupus nephritis. She had a prior unrelated, living donor kidney transplant that was subsequently replaced by a deceased donor kidney transplant due to graft failure.

A Case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in an Immunosuppressed Adult.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in an adult (MIS-A) is a rare immunological complication that gained prominence after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Patients with MIS-A often clinically present with non-specific generalized symptoms, such as fever, myalgia, or fatigue, making the diagnosis difficult. In this article, we present an unusual case of MIS-A in a 50-year-old male that raises the question of whether the immune system's dysregulation will demonstrate differing criteria of signs and symptoms for a patient on sustained immunosuppression as opposed to the non-immunosuppressed population.

Chronic elevation of cardiac troponin I predicts the extent of coronary disease in hemodialysis patients presenting with acute enzyme elevation.

Introduction: Elevation of cardiac troponin I (cTn-I) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving hemodialysis. We aim to investigate the diagnostic value of chronically elevated cTn-I in ESRD patients presenting with an acute rise in serum cTn-I levels.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 364 patients.