Chronic occult lead poisoning often develops ensuing occupational lead exposure. Early diagnosis of lead poisoning is critical for timely discontinuation of lead exposure and for prognosis. This study explored the value of urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) in diagnosing renal injury induced by lead at an early stage. We retrospectively analyzed 92 workers exposed to occupational lead and...

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is expressed in a variety of human cancers including lung cancer. Three mature peptides with different COOH-terminal regions, PTHrP (1-139), PTHrP (1-173), and PTHrP (1-141), are translated from three different mRNAs through alternative splicing. In each, COOH-terminal fragment (C-PTHrP) is stable and measurable in the urine. In the present study, we ...

BACKGROUND Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a novel, sensitive and specific biomarker that is rapidly released after kidney injury. It predicts acute kidney injury (AKI) in multiple clinical scenarios. We hypothesized that urinary NGAL can predict AKI after liver transplantation. METHODS Urine was collected in 92 patients undergoing liver transplantation (18 living...

BACKGROUND We recently reported that immunoreactivity of intrarenal angiotensinogen (AGT) is significantly increased in IgA nephropathy patients. Meanwhile, we have developed direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to measure plasma and urinary AGT (UAGT) in humans. This study was performed to test the hypothesis that UAGT levels are increased in chronic glomerulonephritis patients. METHODS...

BACKGROUND Primary hyperaldosteronism may be associated with elevated 24-hour urinary potassium excretion. We evaluated the diagnostic value of spot urine (SU) potassium as an index of 24-hour urinary potassium excretion. METHODS We measured SU and 24-hour urinary collection potassium and creatinine in 382 patients. Correlations between SU and 24-hour collections were assessed for potassium l...

AIM To evaluate whether the urinary creatinine concentration is a reliable reference value to standardise urinary solute excretion in a spot urine sample during the first week of life. METHODS Spontaneously voided urine specimens were obtained in 48 healthy, full term neonates, aged 1 to 6 days (median 2.4) and in 168 healthy older children with a median age of 1.5 years (range 1 month to 3 y...

Background: We aimed to investigate the short-term effects of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) treatment on adrenal pathway and bone metabolism in patients with epileptic encephalopathy.
 Methods: Two groups 16 controls were formed. Before treatment, all tested for metabolism. Twenty doses ACTH therapy given patient group over 3 months. The tests repeated 1 month after end treatment.&#x0...

One of the main limitations of glucocorticoid therapy is its negative effects on bones. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of concurrent administration of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and alendronate on bone changes induced by glucocorticoid treatment in rats. Thirty six male Wistar rats, who were 2.5 months of age, were divided equally into six groups and treated with normal sal...

Background: The kidneys perform glomerular filtration, tubular reabsorption, and tubular secretion and the study of urinary excretion of some enzymes considered as a sensitive test for the detection of early stages of renal disease, particularly N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) which is a hydrolytic lysosomal enzyme present in the epithelial cells of the proximal convoluted tubule. Increased ...