Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use in patients with COVID-19 on hemodialysis: a case series.

Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and are at increased risk of developing severe infection. However, given the exclusion of such patients from clinical trials, there are limited data regarding the effectiveness of the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (N/R) in patients on HD. We prescribed N/R to 4 patients on HD with COVID-19 after obtaining informed consent.

Bioinformatics analysis of potential key ferroptosis-related genes involved in tubulointerstitial injury in patients with diabetic nephropathy.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the primary complication of diabetes mellitus. Ferroptosis is a form of cell death that plays an important role in DN tubulointerstitial injury, but the specific molecular mechanism remains unclear. Here, we downloaded the DN tubulointerstitial datasets GSE104954 and GSE30529 from the Gene Expression Omnibus database.

Stanniocalcin 2 Is Upregulated by Calcium-Sensing Receptor and Protects Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells from High-Phosphate-Induced Apoptosis.

Introduction: Apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells induced by hyperphosphatemia is a critical mechanism of chronic kidney disease-related vascular disorders. The present study investigated whether extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) regulates stanniocalcin 2 (STC2) expression in HAoSMCs and subsequently protects HAoSMCs from high-phosphate-induced apoptosis.

Methods: HAoSMCs were cultured, and STC2 expression was determined by qPCR.

Choroidal Vascularity Index Assessment: A Potential Noninvasive Technique for Diagnosing Diabetic Nephropathy.

Aims: This study aimed to compare the accuracy of the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN).

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 117 patients with proteinuria and diabetes mellitus (DM) in which 45 patients were diagnosed with DN by renal pathology. Demographic information, clinical features, and laboratory data were collected.

Bioactive peptide apelin rescues acute kidney injury by protecting the function of renal tubular mitochondria.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in proximal tubular epithelial cells is a key event in acute kidney injury (AKI), which is a risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Apelin is a bioactive peptide that protects against AKI by alleviating inflammation, inhibiting apoptosis, and preventing lipid oxidation, but its role in protecting against mitochondrial damage remains unknown. Herein, we examined the protective effects of apelin on mitochondria in cisplatin-stimulated human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells and evaluated its therapeutic efficacy in cisplatin-induced AKI mice.

Endothelial progenitor cells-derived exosomal microRNA-21-5p alleviates sepsis-induced acute kidney injury by inhibiting RUNX1 expression.

The role of microRNA-21-5p (miR-21-5p) in sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) has been seldom discussed. Therefore, the objective of this present study was to investigate the mechanism of endothelial progenitor cells-derived exosomes (EPCs-exos) in sepsis-induced AKI via miR-21-5p/runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) axis. miR-21-5p was downregulated and RUNX1 was upregulated in the kidney of cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) rats, and miR-21-5p targeted RUNX1.

Cerebral blood flow alterations in hemodialysis patients with and without restless legs syndrome: an arterial spin labeling study.

Hemodialysis with restless legs syndrome (HD-RLS) is associated with alterations in neuronal function, the blood-brain barrier and iron deposition, thus affecting cerebral metabolism and perfusion. This study utilized three-dimensional arterial spin labeling (ASL) to identify HD-RLS-related perfusion patterns and potential relationships with disease severity. Twenty-six HD-RLS patients, 30 hemodialysis patients without restless legs syndrome (HD-nRLS) and 30 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls were included in this study.

Acute Kidney Injury in Oncology Patients.

With rapid progress in cancer diagnosis and treatment in the last two decades, outcomes in oncological patients have improved significantly. However, the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in this population has also increased significantly. AKI complicates many aspects of patients' care and adversely affects their prognoses; thus, accurately diagnosing the risk factors for AKI ensures appropriate management.

Different iron deposition patterns in hemodialysis patients with and without restless legs syndrome: a quantitative susceptibility mapping study.

Objective: Brain iron deposition in hemodialysis (HD) patients increases over time. Iron deficiency in gray matter nuclei has been reported to lead to idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms. Regardless of unpleasant RLS sensations, the patterns of iron deposition between hemodialysis patients with RLS (HD-RLS) and hemodialysis patients without RLS (HD-nRLS) are still unclear.

Urine NGAL as an early biomarker for diabetic kidney disease: accumulated evidence from observational studies.

Urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) was found to increase in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, the clinical value of urine NGAL as diagnostic indicators in DKD remains to be clarified. Relevant studies were systematically retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library.

Circulating α-Klotho Levels in Hemodialysis Patients and Their Relationship to Atherosclerosis.

Background/aims: Serum soluble Klotho (sKlotho) plays a role in cardiovascular disease in some populations. However, information regarding the effect of serum sKlotho on atherosclerosis in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) is limited. Therefore, we tested the level of serum sKlotho in MHD patients to investigate atherosclerosis disease and determine the relationship between sKlotho and atherosclerosis.

Apelin attenuates TGF-β1-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition via activation of PKC-ε in human renal tubular epithelial cells.

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process whereby fully differentiated epithelial cells transition to a mesenchymal phenotype, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis. Apelin, a bioactive peptide, has recently been recognized to protect against renal profibrotic activity, but the underlying mechanism has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the regulation of EMT in the presence of apelin-13 in vitro.

Apelin: A novel inhibitor of vascular calcification in chronic kidney disease.

Background: Vascular calcification (VC) is closely related to cardiovascular events in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Apelin has emerged as a potent regulator of cardiovascular function, but its role in VC during CKD remains unknown. We determined whether apelin plays a role in phosphate-induced mineralization of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) and in adenine-induced CKD rats with aortic calcification.

The regulatory peptide apelin: a novel inhibitor of renal interstitial fibrosis.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of tubular epithelial cells is a key event in renal interstitial fibrosis and the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Apelin is a regulatory peptide involved in the regulation of normal renal hemodynamics and tubular functions, but its role in renal fibrosis remains unknown. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effects of apelin on transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced EMT in HK-2 cells, and evaluated its therapeutic efficacy in mice with complete unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO).

[Epidemiological analysis on 141 cases of angiostrongyliasis cantonensis in Beijing].

Objective: To provide scientific basis for angiostrongyliasis cantonensis control and prevention in Beijing.

Methods: Descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze angiostrongyliasis cantonensis reported from June to September in 2006.

Results: 141 cases were treated at the Beijing Friendship Hospital with the peak in July (61 cases) and August (68 cases).

[Clinical observation on 25 cases of severe angiostrongyliasis cantonensis].

Objective: To summarize the clinical features of severe angiostrongyliasis cantonensis (AC) patients.

Methods: Clinical data on symptoms, physical signs, auxiliary examination and prognosis of 25 severe AC patients hospitalized in June-Sept 2006 were analyzed.

Results: Epidemiologically, all cases had eaten uncooked fresh water snails.