Patients with end stage renal failure (ESRF) present a number of challenges to the anesthesiologist. They may be chronically ill and debilitated and have the potential for multisystem organ dysfunction. Patients with primary renal disease are likely younger and have good cardiopulmonary reserve. Older patients with renal failure secondary to diabetes mellitus or hypertension may suffer the rava...

The process of normal aging affects organ homeostasis as well as responses to acute and chronic injury. In view of the rapid growth in the elderly population, it is increasingly important for us to develop a mechanistic understanding of how these age-dependent changes can impact the susceptibility and response of the kidney to injurious stimuli. In this overview, we focus on the current underst...

Scleroderma is a disease characterized by immune activation, vasculopathy, fibroblast stimulation, and connective tissue fibrosis. End-organ damage occurs due to progressive tissue fibrosis and vasculopathy. Markers of incipient vasculopathy have not been well studied in scleroderma. However, reduced renal functional reserve and proteinuria are common indicators of progressive vasculopathy in d...

Perioperative hemodynamic optimization, or goal-directed therapy (GDT), has been show to significantly decrease complications and risk of death in high-risk patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. An important aim of GDT is to prevent an imbalance between oxygen delivery and oxygen consumption in order to avoid the development of multiple organ dysfunction. The utilization of cardiac output mon...

Initially considered as a semipermeable barrier separating lumen from vessel wall, the endothelium is now recognised as a complex endocrine organ responsible for a variety of physiological processes vital for vascular homeostasis. These include the regulation of vascular tone, luminal diameter, and blood flow; hemostasis and thrombolysis; platelet and leucocyte vessel-wall interactions; the reg...

A new genus, Suffrica, is described from Tanzania and Kenya. It contains three new species occurring in the Eastern Arc Mountains and the adjacent Mkomazi Game Reserve: S. exotica, S. chawia and S. gus. They are characterized by a remarkable combination of features which has not been documented in spiders so far: a pair of femoral organs on each leg, a gland on the dorsal side of the abdomen in...

New products that help make human tissue and organ regeneration more effective are in high demand and include materials, structures and substrates that drive cell-to-tissue transformations, orchestrate anatomical assembly and tissue integration with biology. Marine organisms are exemplary bioresources that have extensive possibilities in supporting and facilitating development of human tissue s...

Ageing is a natural process. Discoveries in medical science and improved social conditions during the last few decades have increased the life span of human beings. Essentially geriatrics is concerned with the people aged 65 years and above. The biological changes of ageing are clear but the mechanisms that mediate them are not. Various contradictory theories exist in this regard but there is a...

Frailty is a progressive physiological decline in multiple organ systems marked by loss of function, loss of physiological reserve and increased vulnerability to disease and death. Frail older adults are vulnerable to poor health outcomes including an increased risk of disability, social isolation and institutionalisation. With the advances in understanding of the physiological underpinnings an...