Snow White's tale in nephrology: the emerging threat of skin-whitening creams on kidney health.

The timeless tale of Snow White, with its emphasis on fair skin as a beauty ideal, mirrors a contemporary issue in nephrology: the harmful impact of skin-whitening creams on kidney health. Fairness creams have deeply embedded themselves in global society, driven by a pervasive obsession with lighter skin tones as a symbol of beauty. This widespread use reflects deeply rooted cultural beliefs and social norms, despite the significant health risks associated with these products.

The Applicability of Artificial Intelligence in Predicting the Depth of Myometrial Invasion on MRI Studies-A Systematic Review.

(1) Objective: Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important tool in medicine in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment evaluation, and its role will increase over time, along with the improvement and validation of AI models. We evaluated the applicability of AI in predicting the depth of myometrial invasion in MRI studies in women with endometrial cancer. (2) Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, and clinicaltrials.

Chronic kidney disease: the missing concept in the 2019 EULAR/ERA-EDTA recommendations for lupus nephritis.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is diagnosed when glomerular filtration rate (GFR) falls below 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 or urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (UACR) reaches ≥30 mg/g, as these two thresholds indicate a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular mortality. CKD is classified as mild, moderate or severe, based on GFR and UACR values, and the latter two classifications convey a high or very high cardiovascular risk, respectively.

A Policy Call to Address Rare Kidney Disease in Health Care Plans.

Despite a large number of people globally being affected by rare kidney diseases, research support and health care policy programs usually focus on the management of the broad spectrum of CKD without particular attention to rare causes that would require a targeted approach for proper cure. Hence, specific curative approaches for rare kidney diseases are scarce, and these diseases are not treated optimally, with implications on the patients' health and quality of life, on the cost for the health care system, and society. There is therefore a need for rare kidney diseases and their mechanisms to receive the appropriate scientific, political, and policy attention to develop specific corrective approaches.

Clinical Implications and Risk Factors for Erectile Dysfunction in Kidney Transplant: A Single-Center Assessment.

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects the great majority of people undergoing dialysis and also the majority of patients undergoing kidney transplantation. In this study, we investigated the degree of erectile dysfunction (ED), as well as its prevalence, contributory variables, and overall impact after renal transplant.

Methods: Adult male kidney transplant patients were the subject of an observational, non-interventional study that was conducted at a single center.

The impact of renal transplantation on sexual function in males with end-stage kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on dialysis have a special profile, including constant uremic status and frequent comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and coronary artery disease, as well as complications related to dialysis. All listed factors can influence or be the cause of sexual dysfunction in both men and women. There is a high incidence (70%) and prevalence (82%) of erectile dysfunction in men with CKD.

Preparing European Nephrology for the next pandemic: lessons from the ERACODA collaboration.

Owing to the vulnerability of patients with chronic kidney disease to infectious diseases, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been particularly devastating for the nephrology community. Unfortunately, the possibility of future COVID-19 waves or outbreaks of other infectious diseases with pandemic potential cannot be ruled out. The nephrology community made tremendous efforts to contain the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Active metabolic lithiasis: A condition that requires proper evaluation and monitoring.

Kidney stone evolution is different among patients, with some exhibiting kidney stones once in a lifetime and others experiencing multiple recurrences, with some even presenting with them at short intervals of time. The present study analyzed the risk of recurrence in order to organize a personalized prophylaxis and follow-up for the patients at risk. Prior to the analysis, the patients completed the liquids, antecedents, medication, associated pathologies and aliments questionnaire.

Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma in Students at a Dental Technical College: A Report of 3 Cases.

Bladder cancer is one of the main types of neoplasia affecting men, with the highest incidence reported toward the end of the seventh decade of life. Unlike other malignancies, bladder cancer is attributable to specific widely occurring carcinogenic risk factors in 60-70% of cases, and numerous professions have been linked to higher rates of the disease. The present study includes the cases of three male graduates (mean age, 23 years) from the same dental technical college, two of whom were students at the Faculty of Dental Medicine of the Iași University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Iași, Romania) at the time of diagnosis.

Clostridioides difficile Infection in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review.

infection (CDI) is a health issue of utmost significance in Europe and North America, due to its high prevalence, morbidity, and mortality rate. The clinical spectrum of CDI is broad, ranging from asymptomatic to deadly fulminant colitis. When associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), CDI is more prevalent and more severe than in the general population, due to specific risk factors such as impaired immune system, intestinal dysmotility, high antibiotic use leading to disturbed microbiota, frequent hospitalization, and PPI use.

Renin-Angiotensin System Blockers and the Risk of COVID-19-Related Mortality in Patients with Kidney Failure.

Background And Objectives: There is concern about potential deleterious effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients with kidney failure, who often use ACEis/ARBs, are at higher risk of more severe COVID-19. However, there are no data available on the association of ACEi/ARB use with COVID-19 severity in this population.

Nutritional status improvement in elderly CKD patients: a systematic review.

Purpose: Almost all CKD patients have a poor nutritional status, while elderly CKD patients are specifically frail and malnourished. Our aim is to conduct a systematic review of the up to date primary studies that look at methods of improving nutritional status in CKD patients in the elderly demographic.

Methods: A focussed and sensitive search strategy was applied to the PUBMED database to identify relevant English language articles.

Efficiency of Hypertonic Saline in the Management of Decompensated Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Studies.

Introduction: Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), with an incidence of 1-2%, is a clinical syndrome with significant morbidity and mortality despite therapeutic advancements and ongoing clinical trials. A recent therapeutic approach to patients with ADHF includes combination therapy with hypertonic saline solution (HSS) and furosemide, based on the hypothesis that resistance to loop diuretics occurs because of achievement of plateau in water and sodium excretion in patients receiving long-term loop diuretic therapy.

Objective: Our aim was to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficiency of combination HSS plus furosemide therapy in patients with ADHF in terms of mortality, readmissions, length of hospital stay, kidney function, urine output, body weight, and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).

Inflammation is an amplifier of lung congestion by high lv filling pressure in hemodialysis patients: a longitudinal study.

Introduction: Since inflammation alters vascular permeability, including vascular permeability in the lung, we hypothesized that it can be an amplifier of lung congestion in a category of patients at high risk for pulmonary oedema like end stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients.

Objective And Methods: We investigated the effect modification by systemic inflammation (serum CRP) on the relationship between a surrogate of the filling pressure of the LV [left atrial volume indexed to the body surface area (LAVI)] and lung water in a series of 220 ESKD patients. Lung water was quantified by the number of ultrasound B lines (US-B) on lung US.

OBESITY: A DELICATE ISSUE CHOOSING THE ESWL TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH KIDNEY AND URETERAL STONES?

Context: Urolithiasis and obesity are now public health problems with an increased incidence worldwide. Management of urolithiasis in patients with morbid obesity is usually associated with higher morbidity and mortality compared to non-obese patients. ESWL is a nonsurgical procedure for the treatment of lithiasis.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in children with kidney disease.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) has been described as a neurological condition observed in a variety of clinical settings and is characterized by focal neurological deficits, seizures, headaches, altered mental status, and visual impairment, associated with transient typical lesions on neuroimaging, predominantly in the posterior part of the brain. The most common risk factors for PRES are hypertension, renal diseases, and the use of calcineurin inhibitors. The incidence of PRES in children with renal disorders varies between 4 and 9%, according to different reports.

Efficacy of a remote web-based lung ultrasound training for nephrologists and cardiologists: a LUST trial sub-project.

Within the framework of the LUST trial (LUng water by Ultra-Sound guided Treatment to prevent death and cardiovascular events in high-risk end-stage renal disease patients), the European Renal and Cardiovascular Medicine (EURECA-m) working group of the European Renal Association-European Dialysis Transplant Association established a central core lab aimed at training and certifying nephrologists and cardiologists participating in this trial. All participants were trained by an expert trainer with an entirely web-based programme. Thirty nephrologists and 14 cardiologists successfully completed the training.

Criteria for and Appropriateness of Renal Transplantation in Elderly Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease: A Literature Review and Position Statement on Behalf of the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association Descartes Working Group and European Renal Best Practice.

During the last 20 years, waiting lists for renal transplantation (RT) have grown significantly older. However, elderly patients (ie ≥65 years of age) are still more rarely referred or accepted to waiting lists and, if enlisted, have less chances of actually receiving a kidney allograft, than younger counterparts. In this review, we looked at evidence for the benefits and risks of RT in the elderly trying to answer the following questions: Should RT be advocated for elderly patients? What should be the criteria to accept elderly patients on the waiting list for RT? What strategies might be used to increase the rate of RT in waitlisted elderly candidates? For selected elderly patients, RT was shown to be superior to dialysis in terms of patient survival.

Dialysis modality choice in elderly patients with end-stage renal disease: a narrative review of the available evidence.

The number of elderly patients on maintenance dialysis has rapidly increased in the past few decades, particularly in developed countries, imposing a growing burden on dialysis centres. Hence, many nephrologists and healthcare authorities feel that greater emphasis should be placed on the promotion of home dialysis therapies such as peritoneal dialysis (PD) and home haemodialysis (HD). There is currently no general consensus as to the best dialysis modality for elderly patients with end-stage renal disease.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy-associated granulomatous prostatitis mimicking prostate cancer on MRI: A case report and literature review.

Granulomatous prostatitis following bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy is a well-known pathological entity, developing following initiation of BCG therapy as a prophylactic measure against the recurrence of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. In addition, there are certain imaging similarities between granulomatous prostatitis and prostate cancer, including hypoechoic area on transrectal ultrasonography and low T2 signal intensity in some prostate areas on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This is the report of a case exhibiting a perfect imaging cross-match between granulomatous prostatitis and potential prostate cancer on repeated MRI exams, adding two supplementary aspects to the already known similarities, namely progressive restricted diffusion and increased contrast enhancement, which are specific to prostate cancer.

Morphological changes of the peritoneal membrane in patients with long-term dialysis.

Morphological alterations of peritoneum in chronically dialyzed patients involve fibrosis and angiogenesis as pathogenic mechanisms. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate morphological changes of peritoneum in chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) at 4, 8, 12, and 14 years. Peritoneal changes were investigated in 110 patients with end stage renal failure, which were included in a PD program.

Approaching frailty as the new geriatric syndrome.

Ageing is inevitably associated with a decline in physiologic reserves. Frailty results from reaching a threshold of decline across multiple organ systems. By consequence, it is associated with a high vulnerability and reduced ability to maintain homeostasis.

Diagnosis of tuberculosis in dialysis patients: current strategy.

Patients with ESRD undergoing chronic dialysis are much more prone to develop tuberculosis (TB) than the general population. In these patients, the diagnosis of TB disease is often difficult because of prevailing extrapulmonary involvement and nonspecific symptoms. The prevalence of latent TB infection (LTBI) in ESRD patients is elevated, and those who become infected are at high risk of developing active disease.