Atherosclerotic renovascular hypertension is a form of secondary hypertension due to renal artery stenosis. After the introduction of medical therapy such as with statins and angiotensin blocking agents, it has been considered a very slowly progressive disease. In the 1990s, surgical methods were compared to radiological intervention and showed no additional benefits. Recent clinical data also demonstrate that in cases of relatively stable atherosclerotic renovascular disease, medical therapy is as effective as other interventions with regard to patient outcomes. In this paper the recent clinical outcomes are reviewed.
Angiotensins ; Atherosclerosis ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Renovascular ; Renal Artery Obstruction

No abstract available.
Humans ; Renal Dialysis

Mineral metabolism abnormalities, such as low 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) and elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH), are common at even higher glomerular filtration rate than previously described. Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) show an inverse correlation with those of intact PTH and phosphorus. Studies of the general population found much higher all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality for patients with lower levels of vitamin D; this finding suggests that low 25(OH)D level is a risk factor and predictive of CV events in patients without chronic kidney disease (CKD). 25(OH)D/1,25(OH)2D becomes deficient with progression of CKD. Additionally, studies of dialysis patients have found an association of vitamin D deficiency with increased mortality. Restoration of the physiology of vitamin D receptor activation should be essential therapy for CKD patients.
Dialysis ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Diseases ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Phosphorus ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Risk Factors ; Vitamin D ; Vitamin D Deficiency ; Vitamins

Hypokalemia occurs frequently in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). However, the therapeutic strategy may differ from that of non-PD-related hypokalemia. We investigated clinical features and related factors of de novo hypokalemia in incident PD patients. We retrospectively enrolled 82 normokalemic patients starting PD at Gachon University Gil Hospital, Korea. The patients were divided into hypokalemia (K+<3.5 mEq/L) and normokalemia (3.5 mEq/L< or =K+<5.5 mEq/L) groups based on the plasma potassium levels at month 13, and then clinical parameters including peritoneal function and adequacy tests and biochemical parameters were compared. Eight patients who showed hyperkalemia (K+> or =5.5 mEq/L) at month 13 were excluded from our analyses. The incidence of hypokalemia in PD patients was 7.3% in a year. The de novo hypokalemia (n=6) and normokalemia (n=68) groups had no significant differences in baseline characteristics. The serum albumin levels and normalized protein equivalent of nitrogen appearance (nPNA) at month 1 were not significantly different between the two groups. At month 13, on the other hand, serum albumin levels and nPNA were significantly lower in the hypokalemia group (P=0.014; P=0.006, respectively). Kt/Vurea, residual renal function, dialysate-peritoneal creatinine ratio, and glucose load were not significantly different between the two groups. Hypokalemia occurring after initiation of PD may largely be associated with poor nutritional status.
Creatinine ; Glucose ; Hand ; Humans ; Hyperkalemia ; Hypokalemia ; Incidence ; Korea ; Nitrogen ; Nutritional Status ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Plasma ; Potassium ; Retrospective Studies ; Serum Albumin

T50 is a novel serum-based marker that assesses the propensity for calcification in serum. A shorter T50 indicates a greater propensity to calcify and has been associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality among patients with chronic kidney disease. The factors associated with T50 and the correlation between T50 and bone mineral density (BMD) are unknown in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 184 patients undergoing HD. Individuals were grouped into tertiles of T50 to compare the demographic and disease indicators of the tertiles. Linear regression was used to evaluate the association between T50 and hip and spinal BMD in a multivariate model. Results: Mineral and inflammatory parameters, including serum phosphate (r = –0.156, p = 0.04), albumin (r = 0.289, p < 0.001), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (r = –0.224, p = 0.003) levels, were associated with T50. We found a weak association between T50 and BMD in the total hip area in the unadjusted model (β = 0.030, p = 0.04) but did not find a statistically significant association with the total hip (β = 0.017, p = 0.12), femoral neck (β = –0.001, p = 0.96), or spinal BMD (β = 0.019, p = 0.33) in multivariable-adjusted models. Conclusion: T50 was moderately associated with mineral and inflammatory parameters but did not conclusively establish an association with BMD in HD patients. Broad-scale future studies should determine whether T50 can provide insights into BMD beyond traditional risk factors in this population.

Adipsia is a rare disorder that occurs due to damage to the osmoreceptor and not feeling thirst despite hyperosmolality. Adipsic hypernatremia can occur when there is damage to the anterior communicating artery that supplies blood to osmoreceptors, and the level of arginine vasopressin secretion varies widely. A 37-year-old woman, suffering from severe headache, was consulted to the nephrology department for hypernatremia and polyuria after clipping of a ruptured aneurysm in the anterior communicating artery. Despite her hypernatremic hyperosmolar state, she denied thirst and did not drink spontaneously. She was diagnosed adipsic hypernatremia by evaluating the osmoregulatory and baroregulatory function tests.Because adipsic hypernatremia is caused by not enough drinking water even for hyperosmolality due to the lack of thirst stimulus, the strategies of treatment are that setting the target body weight when serum osmolality is normal and have the patient drink water until patient reach the target body weight. Adipsic hypernatremia should be considered to be a rare complication of subarachnoid hemorrhage associated with an anterior communicating artery aneurysm.

BACKGROUND: Although adequate removal of small solutes are essential for effective hemodialysis, many patients are suffering from inadequate delivery of hemodialysis, especially with the conventional fixed regimen of dialysis for 4 hours three times per week. We tried to evaluate actual delivered dose of hemodialysis in patients receiving 4 hours of low-flux hemodialysis, and to analyze factors affecting inadequate delivery of hemodialysis. METHODS: 97 stable maintenance hemodialysis patients who were undergoing 4 hours of hemodialysis thrice weekly were included for analysis. Prescribed dose of dialysis was calculated by Kt/V where K was in vitro urea clearance of dialyzer membrane and V was estimated according to the Watson's formula. Delivered dose of dialysis was calculated according to the Daugirdas equation. To find factors that may impair adequate delivery of hemodialysis, various clinical and technical parameters were analyzed. RESULTS: Prescribed dose of hemodialysis was 1.37+/-0.21, while delivered dose was 1.23+/-0.27, and thus, there was a significant difference (p <0.03). In 45% of the patients, delivered dose was less than 1.2. They were heavier and prescribed dose was low. delta Kt/V (Prescribed dose-Delivered dose) was significantly greater in patients who did not use heparin therapy compared to patients who used heparin. Other parameters such as hypotension, missed treatment, sex, type of vascular access and degree of recirculation were not associated with impaired delivery of hemodialysis.
Dialysis* ; Heparin ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Membranes ; Renal Dialysis* ; Urea

Exercise-induced hematuria is a phenomenon occurring in subjects who participate in strenuous exercise. Rapid resolution is an important feature of exercise-induced hematuria. We report here a case of exercise-induced hematuria presenting as gross hematuria lasting 1 week in a 19-year-old male patient. Gross hematuria developed after strenuous exercise about 3 years ago. Three months ago, recurrent gross hematuria was lasting 1 week, regardless of exercise intensity. Compression of the left renal vein between the aorta and superior mesenteric artery, without prominent venous collaterals, was detected by computed tomography. However, no abnormalities were detected by renal venography, arteriography or kidney biopsy. Exercise-induced hematuria occurs with a high incidence, but is self-limiting. In contrast, recurrent and gross hematuria can be associated with bladder carcinoma or vascular abnormality. This should be kept in mind, and urological evaluations such as cystoscopy and angiography are necessary in gross and recurrent hematuria.
Angiography ; Aorta ; Biopsy ; Cystoscopy ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kidney ; Male ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Phlebography ; Renal Veins ; Urinary Bladder ; Young Adult

Hemodialysis (HD) patients experience vascular calcification, ultimately leading to high mortality rates. Previously, we reported associations between soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGEs) and extracellular newly identified RAGE-binding protein S100A12 (EN-RAGE) and vascular calcification. Here, we extended our observations, investigating whether these biomarkers may be useful for predicting cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in these subjects. Thus, we evaluated the relationship between sRAGE and S100A12 and mortality in long-term HD patients. This was a prospective observational cohort study in 199 HD patients from an extended analysis of our previous study. Plasma sRAGE, S100A12, comorbidities, and other traditional risk factors were investigated. The cumulative incidences for death using Cox proportional hazards regression were evaluated in multivariable analyses. The observation period was 44 months. During the observation period, 27 (13.6%) patients died. Univariate analysis demonstrated that S100A12 was correlated with diabetes (P = 0.040) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) (P = 0.006). In multivariable analyses, plasma sRAGE (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.155; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.612–2.183; P = 0.656) and S100A12 (HR = 0.960; 95% CI = 0.566–1.630; P = 0.881) were not associated with mortality in HD patients, although traditional predictors of mortality, including age, history of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and serum levels of albumin and hsCRP were related to mortality. Powerful predictors of mortality were age, CVD, and albumin levels. Plasma sRAGE and S100A12 may be weak surrogate markers for predicting all-cause mortality in patients undergoing HD, although S100A12 was partly related to diabetes and inflammation.
Biomarkers ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies ; Comorbidity ; Glycosylation End Products, Advanced* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Mortality* ; Plasma ; Prospective Studies ; Renal Dialysis* ; Risk Factors ; S100A12 Protein* ; Vascular Calcification

Kidney cortex necrosis is a relatively rare cause of acute kidney injury and is characterized by complete or partial destruction of the renal cortex, but sparing of the medulla. Tranexamic acid has antifibrinolytic activity and is used to reduce bleeding. We report a rare case of kidney cortex necrosis caused by tranexamic acid. A 49-year-old woman complained of coughing up blood-tinged sputum. She had a history of bronchiectasis and was treated with tranexamic acid for 3 days. Four days after admission, she developed anuria and azotemia. Computerized tomography showed enhancement of the renal medulla, but not the bilateral renal cortex. The patient was treated with hemodialysis, and has since been maintained on hemodialysis for 6 months. Due to the development of kidney cortex necrosis in patients treated with tranexamic acid, all its potential complications should be considered.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Anuria ; Azotemia ; Bronchiectasis ; Cough ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Cortex ; Kidney Cortex Necrosis ; Middle Aged ; Renal Dialysis ; Sputum ; Tranexamic Acid