HIV-associated immune complex kidney disease

The introduction in the late 20(th) century of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) to treat patients infected with HIV has changed the natural history of the disease from an acute illness that rapidly culminates in death, to a chronic condition that can be managed with medications. Over the past decade the epidemiology of kidney disease in US patients infected with HIV has changed, perhaps because of the increased availability and use of cART. Patients with HIV infection exhibit unique immunologic characteristics, including immunodeficiency and dysregulation of immunoglobulin synthetic responses and T-cell function, which can result in glomerular immune complex deposition and subsequent kidney injury. This Review examines the differential diagnoses of HIV-associated immune complex kidney diseases (HIVICD), and discusses the clinical manifestations and mechanisms underlying their development. We address the issues associated with treatment, clinical outcomes, and research needs to enhance our ability to diagnose and optimally treat patients with HIVICD.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Chronic Kidney Disease: Ready for Prime Time?

Hypertension is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is the most important modifiable risk factor for CKD progression and adverse cardiovascular events in these patients. Diagnosis and successful management of hypertension are critically dependent on accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement. This is most relevant to CKD patients, in whom BP control is difficult to achieve and in whom early antihypertensive treatment is imperative to prevent kidney and cardiovascular complications. Accumulated data indicate that ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is better in detecting hypertension than office BP measurement. ABPM is also a superior prognostic marker compared with office BP and has successfully identified hypertensive CKD patients at increased risk. Additionally, ABPM provides information on circadian BP variation and short-term BP variability, which is associated with cardiovascular and renal outcomes. This paper reviews the evidence for the usefulness of ABPM in detection and management of hypertension in CKD patients and discusses our current understanding of the pathophysiology of altered circadian BP rhythm and variability in CKD and the role of abnormal BP patterns detected by ABPM in relation to outcomes in CKD. In addition, this Review examines the emerging role of antihypertensive chronotherapy to tailor BP management to the circadian BP pattern abnormality detected by 24-hour ABPM.

Renal ultrasonographic evaluation in children at risk of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

BACKGROUND

To date, there are no criteria for diagnosing autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) in at-risk children 15 years or younger.

STUDY DESIGN

Longitudinal (retrospective cohort study).

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS

420 children (mean age, 8.3 +/- 4.2 years) with a family history of ADPKD were studied.

MEASUREMENTS

Renal ultrasonography was performed for cyst detection. Urine protein was measured using two 24-hour urine collections. Glomerular filtration rate was calculated using the Schwartz formula. Blood pressure measurements were performed in the arm with the highest blood pressure, using an appropriate cuff size. Standard 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography was performed for measuring left ventricular mass index.

PREDICTORS

None.

OUTCOME

Presence of renal cysts.

RESULTS

Renal cysts were detected in 193 children and no cysts were detected in 227 children. In children with renal cysts, 150 had bilateral and 43 had unilateral cysts. Children with bilateral cysts had larger kidneys and more hypertension than children with unilateral or no cysts. Follow-up in 77 children 15 years or younger showed bilateral cysts in 14 and unilateral cysts in 4 of the children who had no detectable renal cysts using ultrasonography at baseline. Similar follow-up of 26 children 15 years or younger with unilateral cysts detected at baseline showed bilateral cysts in 17 children using ultrasonography. By 15 years of age, 181 patients in the total group of 420 showed bilateral cysts. Overall, 193 of 304 children (63.4%) who had follow-up at any age developed bilateral cysts detected using ultrasonography.

LIMITATIONS

Follow-up unavailable for all participants.

CONCLUSION

The present results in 420 at-risk children with ADPKD 15 years or younger detected bilateral renal cysts using ultrasonography in 181 of the children who had a family history of this genetic disease.

Chryseobacterium indologenes peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis remains a major complication of peritoneal dialysis in patients with end-stage renal disease. Chryseobacterium indologenes is a rare organism that has been reported to cause infections mostly in hospitalised patients with severe underlying diseases. We report the first case of C indologenes peritonitis in a patient on peritoneal dialysis outside of Asia. Our patient with end-stage renal disease on peritoneal dialysis grew C indologenes from peritoneal fluid when he presented with abdominal pain and cloudy effluent. The patient responded well to intraperitoneal antibiotic therapy. Tenckhoff catheter did not require removal. This case demonstrates the importance of considering rare causes of peritonitis, such as C indologenes, in patients on peritoneal dialysis. Given the resistance of such organisms to commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotics, antimicrobial susceptibility testing must be assessed as early as possible to assure appropriate antibiotic coverage to avoid untreated peritonitis leading to peritoneal dialysis failure.

The potassium regulator patiromer affects serum and stool electrolytes in patients receiving hemodialysis

Hyperkalemia is a common and an important cause of death in maintenance hemodialysis patients. Here we investigated the effect of patiromer, a synthetic cation exchanger, to regulate potassium homeostasis. Serum and stool electrolytes were measured in 27 anuric patients with hyperkalemia receiving hemodialysis (mainly 2 mEq/L dialysate) during consecutive two weeks of no-treatment, 12 weeks of treatment with patiromer (16.8g once daily), and six weeks of no treatment. The serum potassium decreased from a mean of 5.7 mEq/L pre-treatment to 5.1 mEq/L during treatment and rebounded to 5.4 mEq/L post-treatment. During the treatment phase, serum calcium significantly increased (from 8.9 to 9.1 mg/dL) and serum magnesium significantly decreased (from 2.6 to 2.4 mg/dL) compared to pre-treatment levels. For each one mEg/L increase in serum magnesium, serum potassium increased by 1.07 mEq/L. Stool potassium significantly increased during treatment phase from pre-treatment levels (4132 to 5923 μg/g) and significantly decreased post-treatment to 4246 μg/g. For each one μg/g increase in stool potassium, serum potassium significantly declined by 0.05 mEq/L. Stool calcium was significantly higher during the treatment phase (13017 μg/g) compared to pre-treatment (7874 μg/g) and post-treatment (7635 μg/g) phases. We estimated that 16.8 g of patiromer will increase fecal potassium by 1880 μg/g and reduce serum potassium by 0.5 mEq/L. Thus, there is a complex interaction between stool and blood potassium, calcium and magnesium during patiromer treatment. Long term consequence of patiromer-induced changes in serum calcium and magnesium remains to be studied.

Music and Medicine: Promoting Harmony for Health

A multitude of clinical trials measuring hemodynamic and psychological parameters have shown the beneficial effects of music on health. However, there are no clear instructions on how to utilize the potential benefits of music to improve health outcomes. Moreover, whether the effect of music is transient or enduring has yet to be determined. To address the effect of music on vital parameters and emotional well-being of patients we provide an overview of methods and findings of some studies that have evaluated the physiological or psychological impacts of music. This review puts forward a proposed model for fostering an individualized approach that can examine the therapeutic effects of music.

Feasibility study on the use of 230 MeV proton cyclotron in proton therapy centers as a spallation neutron source for BNCT

Aim

The feasibility of using 230 MeV proton cyclotrons in proton therapy centers as a spallation neutron source for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) was investigated.

Background

BNCT is based on the neutron irradiation of a ¹⁰B-containing compound located selectively in tumor cells. Among various types of neutron generators, the spallation neutron source is a unique way to generate high-energy and high-flux neutrons.

Materials and Methods

Neutron beam was generated by a proton accelerator via spallation reactions and then the produced neutron beam was shaped to be appropriate for BNCT. The proposed Beam Shaping Assembly (BSA) consists of different moderators, a reflector, a collimator, as well as thermal and gamma filters. In addition, the simulated Snyder head phantom was utilized to evaluate the dose distribution in tumor and normal tissue due to the irradiation by the designed beam. MCNPX2.6 Monte Carlo code was used to optimize BSA as well as evaluate dose evaluation.

Results

A BSA was designed. With the BSA configuration and a beam current of 104 nA, epithermal neutron flux of 3.94 × 10⁶ [n/cm²] can be achieved, which is very low. Provided that we use the beam current of 5.75 μA, epithermal neutron flux of 2.18 × 10⁸ [n/cm²] can be obtained and the maximum dose of 38.2 Gy-eq can be delivered to tumor tissue at 1.4 cm from the phantom surface.

Conclusions

Results for 230 MeV protons show that with proposed BSA, proton beam current about 5.75 μA is required for this purpose.

Precision Medicine in Kidney Transplantation: Just Hype or a Realistic Hope?

Desirable outcomes including rejection- and infection-free kidney transplantation are not guaranteed despite current strategies for immunosuppression and using prophylactic antimicrobial medications. Graft survival depends on factors beyond human leukocyte antigen matching such as the level of immunosuppression, infections, and management of other comorbidities. Risk stratification of transplant patients based on predisposing genetic modifiers and applying precision pharmacotherapy may help improving the transplant outcomes. Unlike certain fields such as oncology in which consistent attempts are being carried out to move away from the "error and trial approach," transplant medicine is lagging behind in implementing personalized immunosuppressive therapy. The need for maintaining a precarious balance between underimmunosuppression and overimmunosuppression coupled with adverse effects of medications calls for a gene-based guidance for precision pharmacotherapy in transplantation. Technologic advances in molecular genetics have led to increased accessibility of genetic tests at a reduced cost and have set the stage for widespread use of gene-based therapies in clinical care. Evidence-based guidelines available for precision pharmacotherapy have been proposed, including guidelines from Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium, the Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, and the US Food and Drug Administration. In this review, we discuss the implications of pharmacogenetics and potential role for genetic variants-based risk stratification in kidney transplantation. A single score that provides overall genetic risk, a polygenic risk score, can be achieved by combining of allograft rejection/loss-associated variants carried by an individual and integrated into practice after clinical validation.

Precision Dialysis: Leveraging Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

The long-term mortality of patients with kidney failure remains unacceptably high. There are a multitude of reasons for the unfavorable status quo of dialysis care, such as the inadequate and suboptimal pattern of uremic toxin removal resulting in a metabolic and hemodynamic "roller coaster" induced by thrice-weekly in-center hemodialysis. Innovation in dialysis delivery systems is needed to build an adaptive and self-improving process to change the status quo of dialysis care with the aim of transforming it from being reactive to being proactive. The introduction of more physiologic and smart dialysis systems using artificial intelligence (AI) incorporating real-time data into the process of dialysis delivery is a realistic target. This would enable machine learning from both individual and collective patient treatment data. This has the potential to shift the paradigm from the practice of population-driven, evidence-based data to precision medicine. In this review, we describe the different components of an AI system, discuss the studied applications of AI in the field of dialysis, and outline parameters that can be used for future smart, adaptive dialysis delivery systems. The desired output is precision dialysis; a self-improving process that has the ability to prognosticate and develop instant and individualized predictive models.

EYE DISEASE IN KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION: CLINICAL CHALLENGES IN A UNIQUE PATIENT POPULATION

Eye disease is common among kidney transplant recipients and their management is challenging. Chronic kidney disease is associated with ocular complications, both independently and in the context of various systemic disorders. In addition, chronic immunosuppression predisposes kidney transplant recipients to an array of long-term ocular issues. This may be broadly categorized into infections, malignancies, and other immunosuppression-specific side effects. The interdependence of kidney disease, transplant pharmacotherapy and ocular health therefore requires a multispecialty approach. Although the kidney transplant population has grown along with the burden of associated oculopathies, systematic guidelines targeting this patient group are lacking. This evidenced-based narrative review summarizes the pertinent issues that may present in the ophthalmic and optometric clinical settings, with emphasis on collaborative management and directions for future research.