AIM Probucol has antioxidant as well as cholesterol-lowering effects. We examined the effect of probucol on the progression of diabetic nephropathy. We named this study 'Sakura Study' after our hospital and city. METHODS We performed a randomized, open trial on 162 type 2 diabetic patients with clinical albuminuria (urinary albumin excretion >300 mg/g creatinine). Eighty patients were assigne...

PURPOSE The present study aimed to investigate the impact of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and renal dysfunction on clinical outcomes in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study involved a retrospective cohort of 8332 patients admitted with AMI. The participants were divided into 4 groups according to the levels of estimated glomerular filtrat...

Aim Delirium is commonly encountered in daily clinical practice. To identify predictors influencing outcomes, we retrospectively examined the characteristics of inpatients with delirium who required psychiatric medication during hospitalization. Methods We extracted all new inpatients (n=523) consulted for psychiatric symptoms at Fukushima Medical University Hospital between October 2011 and ...

INTRODUCTION Recent evidence suggests that uric acid (UA), regardless of crystal deposition, may play a direct pathogenic role in renal disease. We have shown that UA is an independent predictor of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and that CVD risk factors associate with renal dysfunction, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study we investigated whether UA associa...

Although ribavirin is minimally cleared by renal elimination, its pharmacokinetics are substantially altered in patients with chronic renal impairment. This open-label study assessed the pharmacokinetics of single 400-mg oral and intravenous (IV) doses of ribavirin in two healthy volunteers and 12 patients with varying degrees of chronic renal impairment. Blood and urine samples were collected ...

Medullary cystic kidney disease (MCKD) is a hereditary disease associated with bilateral medullary polycysts and interstitial fibrosis. MCKD is typically associated with slowly progressive renal dysfunction. We herein report two rare elderly cases with enlarged kidneys and rapidly progressive renal dysfunction without myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA), PR3-ANCA, or...

Arthrogryposis-renal tubular dysfunction-cholestasis syndrome is a rare multisystem disorder, originally described in 1973 and to date only 62 patients have been reported. Herein, we reported on a neonate with arthrogryposis-renal tubular dysfunction-cholestasis syndrome presenting very early after birth. Recurrent febrile illnesses, failure to thrive, ichthyosis, hypothyroidism, and bilateral ...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether creatinine clearance at the time of hospital admission is an independent predictor of hospital mortality and adverse outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). DESIGN A prospective multicentre observational study, GRACE (global registry of acute coronary events), of patients with the full spectrum of ACS. SETTING Ninety four hospitals of varying...

ABCG2, also known as BCRP, is a high-capacity urate exporter, the dysfunction of which raises gout/hyperuricemia risk. Generally, hyperuricemia has been classified into urate 'overproduction type' and/or 'underexcretion type' based solely on renal urate excretion, without considering an extra-renal pathway. Here we show that decreased extra-renal urate excretion caused by ABCG2 dysfunction is a...

Background: Regulatory T cells have been suggested to have a protective role against acute rejection in allograft recipients. However, there is little information available about their contribution to chronic rejection process. The role of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF- β1) as a profibrogenic and/or immunoregulatory cytokine in renal allografts is also controversial. Objectives: To eva...