BACKGROUND Progression of renal diseases is related to the abnormal regulation of cellular and extracellular matrix turnover. Other factors in addition to schistosomal antigens may be relevant to the progression of schistosomal nephropathy (SN). The validity of markers of fibroblastic differentiation, alpha smooth muscle actin (alphaSMA), and vimentin, as well as the regenerative activity (PCNA...

Diabetic nephropathy is a common complication in patients with diabetes mellitus and one of the major reasons for renal replacement therapy in Croatia, Europe and the United States. It is characterized by proteinuria, decline in glomerular filtration, hypertension, and high risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Deterioration of renal function in diabetic nephropathy develops through f...

We compared large artery mechanical properties in children with nondialysis stages of chronic kidney disease with those in children with normal renal function, examining the potential effect of blood pressure (BP) components and level of renal dysfunction. Common carotid artery mechanical properties, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, and carotid and peripheral BP were measured in children (n...

Chronic pruritus is a debilitating condition with numerous etiologies. Many patients suffer from nocturnal pruritus, which can decrease quality of life and affect mortality in hemodialysis patients. Nocturnal pruritus may occur in all sleep stages but is most prevalent in stages N1 and N2. Further research is needed to elucidate the pathophysiology of nocturnal itch, which will aid in the devel...

A system for computer-assisted encoding, tabulation and analysis of visually scored sleep data is presented. The main features of the system are: (1) The use of computer-readable optical scan sheets for direct encoding of the sleep data. This eliminates the need for a separate transcription and/or key-punching operation. (2) The development of a visually scored data base, organized by NREM and ...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the associations of hyperfiltration and hypofiltration with prediabetes and prehypertension. METHODS The study subjects included 99 140 people aged 20-89 years who underwent health checkups in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The prevalence of hyperfiltration [estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) above the age-/sex-specific 95th percentile] and hypofi...

CONTEXT Progressive glomerular sclerosis is a condition characterized by the accumulation of glomerular extracellular matrix and a decrease in the number of glomerular cells. The mechanisms involved in the progressive loss of glomerular cells are not well understood but may involve the process of apoptosis. The principal mediators for the apoptotic pathway are a class of protease enzymes called...

Kidney glomerular basement membranes (GBMs) undergo laminin and type IV collagen isoform substitutions during glomerular development, which are believed to be required for maturation of the filtration barrier. Specifically, GBMs of earliest glomeruli contain laminin α1β1γ1 and collagen α1α2α1(IV), whereas mature glomeruli contain laminin α5β2γ1 and collagen α3α4α5(IV). Here, we used confocal mi...

BACKGROUND This study was to evaluate the relative applicability of the most commonly used estimation formulas for renal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of Chinese children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS One hundred CKD patients of less than 17 years old were divided into two groups by sex which was further categorized into five subgroups based on CKD staging according to the "re...