A comparison of prediction equations for estimating glomerular filtration rate in adults without kidney disease

The ability of the Modification of Renal Disease (MDRD) equation to predict GFR when compared with multiple other prediction equations in healthy subjects without known kidney disease was analyzed. Between May 1995 and December 2001, a total of 117 healthy individuals underwent (125)I-iothalamate or (99m)Tc-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid (DTPA) renal studies as part of a routine kidney donor evaluation at either Brigham and Women's Hospital or Boston Children's Hospital. On chart review, 100 individuals had sufficient data for analysis. The MDRD 1, MDRD 2 (simplified MDRD equation), Cockcroft-Gault (CG), Cockcroft-Gault corrected for GFR (CG-GFR), and other equations were tested. The median absolute difference in ml/min per 1.73 m(2) between calculated and measured GFR was 28.7 for MDRD 1, 18.5 for MDRD 2, 33.1 for CG, and 28.6 for CG-GFR in the (125)I-iothalamate group and was 31.1 for MDRD 1, 38.2 for MDRD 2, 22.0 for CG, and 31.1 for CG-GFR in the (99m)Tc-DTPA group. Bias was -0.5, -3.3, 25.6, and 5.0 for MDRD 1, MDRD 2, CG, and CG-GFR, respectively, in subjects who received (125)I-iothalamate and -33.2, -36.5, 6.0, and -15.0 for MDRD 1, MDRD 2, CG, and CG-GFR, respectively, in those who received (99m)Tc-DTPA studies. Precision testing, as measured by linear regression, yielded R(2) values of 0.04 for CG, 0.05 for CG-GFR, 0.15 for MDRD 1, and 0.14 for MDRD in those who underwent (125)I-iothalamate studies and 0.18 for CG, 0.21 for CG-GFR, 0.40 for MDRD 1, and 0.38 for MDRD 2 for those who underwent (99m)Tc-DTPA studies. The MDRD equations were more accurate within 30 and 50% of the measured GFR compared with the CG and CG-GFR equations. When compared with the CG equation, the MDRD equations are more precise and more accurate for predicting GFR in healthy adults. The MDRD equations, however, consistently underestimate GFR, whereas the CG equations consistently overestimate measured GFR in people with normal renal function. In potential kidney donors, prediction equations may not be sufficient for estimating GFR; radioisotope studies may be needed for a better assessment of GFR. Further studies are needed to derive and assess GFR prediction equations in people with normal or mildly impaired renal function.

Effect of restricting dietary protein on the progression of renal failure in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND

Restriction of dietary protein may slow the progression of renal failure in diverse renal diseases, but the extent to which such a diet is beneficial in patients with diabetic nephropathy is uncertain.

METHODS

We studied the effect of reduced intake of protein and phosphorus on the progression of renal disease in 35 patients with insulin-dependent (Type I) diabetes mellitus and clinically evident nephropathy. The low-protein, low-phosphorus diet contained 0.6 g of protein per kilogram of ideal body weight per day, 500 to 1000 mg of phosphorus, and 2000 mg of sodium. The control diet consisted of the patient's prestudy diet with the stipulation that it contain 2000 mg of sodium and at least 1 g of protein per kilogram per day and 1000 mg of phosphorus. Renal function was assessed by measurement of iothalamate and creatinine clearances at intervals of 3 to 6 months, and the patients were followed for a minimum of 12 months (mean, 34.7). The declines in mean glomerular filtration rates were compared between groups by linear-regression analysis of the glomerular filtration rate as a function of time.

RESULTS

The patients who followed the study diet for a mean of 37.1 months had declines in iothalamate clearance of 0.0043 ml per second per month and in creatinine clearance of 0.0055 ml per second per month. The comparable values in the control group were 0.0168 and 0.0135, respectively (P less than 0.05). Blood pressure was well controlled, and the degree of glycemic control was comparable in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Dietary restriction of protein and phosphorus can retard the progression of renal failure in patients with Type I diabetes mellitus who have nephropathy. We believe that wider use of this treatment is indicated.

Utility of radioisotopic filtration markers in chronic renal insufficiency: simultaneous comparison of 125I-iothalamate, 169Yb-DTPA, 99mTc-DTPA, and inulin. The Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study

Assessment of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with inulin is cumbersome and time-consuming. Radioisotopic filtration markers have been studied as filtration markers because they can be used without continuous intravenous (IV) infusion and because analysis is relatively simple. Although the clearances of 99mTc-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid (DTPA), 169Yb-DTPA, and 125I-iothalamate have each been compared with inulin, rarely has the comparability of radioisotopic filtration markers been directly evaluated in the same subject. To this purpose, we determined the renal clearance of inulin administered by continuous infusion and the above radioisotopic filtration markers administered as bolus injections, simultaneously in four subjects with normal renal function and 16 subjects with renal insufficiency. Subjects were studied twice in order to assess within-study and between-study variability. Unlabeled iothalamate was infused during the second half of each study to assess its effect on clearances. We found that renal clearance of 125I-iothalamate and 169Yb-DTPA significantly exceeded clearance of inulin in patients with renal insufficiency, but only by several mL.min-1.1.73m-2. Overestimation of inulin clearance by radioisotopic filtration markers was found in all normal subjects. No differences between markers were found in the coefficient of variation of clearances either between periods on a given study day (within-day variability) or between the two study days (between-day variability). The true test variability between days did not correlate with within-test variability. We conclude that the renal clearance of 99mTc-DTPA, 169Yb-DTPA, or 125I-iothalamate administered as a single IV or subcutaneous injection can be used to accurately measure GFR in subjects with renal insufficiency; use of the single injection technique may overestimate GFR in normal subjects.

Acute renal failure with selective medullary injury in the rat

Since human acute renal failure (ARF) is frequently the result of multiple rather than single insults, we used a combination of treatments to induce ARF in rats. Uninephrectomized, salt-depleted rats injected with indomethacin developed ARF after administration of radiocontrast. After 24 h, the plasma creatine rose from 103 +/- 3 to 211 +/- 22 mumol/liter (mean +/- SE) and the creatinine clearance dropped from 0.7 +/- 0.1 to 0.2 +/- 0.04 ml/min (P less than 0.001). Severe injury was confined to the outer medulla and comprised necrosis of medullary thick ascending limbs (mTALs), tubular collapse, and casts. Other nephron segments were free of damage except for the proximal convoluted tubules which showed vacuole formation originating from lateral limiting membranes that resembled changes reported in human contrast nephropathy. Cell damage to mTALs included mitochondrial swelling, nuclear pyknosis, and cytoplasmic disruption with superimposed calcification; these changes were most severe in the deepest areas of the outer medulla, away from vasa recta in zones remote from oxygen supply. The fraction of mTALs with severe damage was 30 +/- 7% (range 2-68) and the extent of injury was correlated with a rise in plasma creatinine (r = 0.8, P less than 0.001). Thus, the nature of mTAL injury was similar to the selective lesions observed in isolated kidneys perfused with cell-free medium and was shown to derive from an imbalance between high oxygen demand by actively transporting mTALs and the meager oxygen supply to the renal medulla. Combined multiple renal insults in the rat produce ARF that resembles the clinical syndrome of contrast nephropathy and is characterized by selective mTAL injury conditioned by medullary hypoxia.

A functional comparison of the cortical collecting tubule and the distal convoluted tubule

Electrical and permeability features of the distal convoluted tubule (DCT) and the cortical collecting tubule (CCT) were examined using the technique in which isolated segments of rabbit tubules were perfused in vitro. When rabbits were given a regular diet and tubules were perfused and bathed in artificial solutions simulating plasma ultrafiltrate, the potential difference (PD) was +3.7 plus or minus 1.9 mV in the CCT and -40.4 plus or minus 2.8 mV in the DCT. When rabbits were given a low sodium, high potassium diet plus i.m. deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) (1 mg/kg per day), the PD in both the CCT (-30.8 plus or minus 3.9 mV) and the DCT (-33.8 plus or minus 5.5 mV) was negative. The PD in the CCT was quantitatively similar to that of diet plus DOCA when animals were given DOCA alone. The PD in both segments was inhibited by ouabain (10-minus 5 M) in the bath or by amiloride (10-minus 5 M) in the perfusate. Addition of vasopressin (200 muU/ml) to the bath caused a gradual decline of PD to zero in the CCT but failed to produce a potential response in the DCT. Osmotic water permeability was essentially zero in both segments in the absence of vasopressin. After addition of the vasopressin to the bath, osmotic water permeability in the DCT remained zero but increased to 71.9 plus or minus 25.5 X 10-minus 7 cm/s per atm in the CCT. We conclude that both segments are similar in that each possesses an electrogenic transport process but that these segments differ in that: (a) the CCT requires either exogenous or endogenous mineralocorticoid to maintain a maximal negative PD, whereas the PD in the DCT appears to be independent of mineralocorticoid effect; and (b) the CCT responds to vasopressin with a marked rise in water permeability, whereas the DCT is impermeable to water before and after addition of vasopressin.

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. A prospective clinical trial of platelet-inhibitor therapy

Forty patients with Type I membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis were treated for one year with dipyridamole, 225 mg per day, and aspirin, 975 mg per day, in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. At the base line, the half-life of 51Cr-labeled platelets was reduced in 12 of 17 patients. The platelet half-life became longer and renal function stabilized in the treated group, as compared with the placebo group, suggesting a relation between platelet consumption and the glomerulopathy. The glomerular filtration rate, determined by iothalamate clearance, was better maintained in the treated group (average decrease, 1.3 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area per 12 months) than in the placebo group (average decrease, 19.6). Fewer patients in the treated group than in the placebo group had progression to end-stage renal disease (3 of 21 after 62 months as compared with 9 of 19 after 33 months). The data suggest that dipyridamole and aspirin slowed the deterioration of renal function and the development of end-stage renal disease.

Evaluation of pediatric hydrocephalus by computed tomography

Computed tomography (CT) is a safe and reliable technique for the study of children with increased head circumference. Hydrocephalic children requiring drainage of cerebrospinal fluid may be shunted on the basis of the CT scan alone and their postsurgical course followed by serial CT scans thereafter. Any additional pneumographic studies required may be performed via the existing shunt tube, eliminating transcerebral catheterization and its attendant complications.

Estimating the glomerular filtration rate from serum creatinine is better than from cystatin C for evaluating risk factors associated with chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease risk factors may associate with the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) differently than with the measured GFR. To examine this, we evaluated 1150 patients (mean age 65 years) in two community cohorts for risk factors, measured GFR by iothalamate clearance, and eGFR based on creatinine (Cr), cystatin C (CysC), or both. The interaction between each risk factor and eGFR (relative to measured GFR) identified risk factor associations with eGFR along non-GFR pathways. In a subset of 40 patients with two visits, the mean coefficient of variation was 8.2% for measured GFR, 6.4% for eGFRCr, 8.2% for eGFRCr-CysC, and 10.7% for eGFRCysC. The measured GFR was better correlated with eGFRCr-CysC (r, 0.74) than eGFRCr (r, 0.70) or eGFRCysC (r, 0.68). Lower measured GFR associated with lower 24-hour urine creatinine, albuminuria, hypertension, diabetes, higher triglycerides, and higher uric acid. Lower eGFRCr had these same associations except for an association with higher 24-hour urine creatinine along a non-GFR pathway. Lower eGFRCysC and eGFRCr-CysC also had these same associations but also associated with obesity, albuminuria, hypertension, diabetes, higher triglycerides, higher C-reactive protein, and higher uric acid along non-GFR pathways. Thus, cystatin C improves estimation of GFR over creatinine alone; however, the association between most of the risk factors and GFR was more accurate by eGFR based on creatinine alone. This is explained by the association of these risk factors with the non-GFR determinants of cystatin C.

Osmolality of intravascular radiological contrast media

All current intravascular radiological contrast media are salts and produce solutions of very high osmolality--five to eight times that or tissue cells, plasma or tissue fluid (all of which have an osmolality of 300 mosmols per kg water). Erythrocytes and vascular endothelium are adversely affected by the high osmolality of intravascular contrast media, resulting in tissue anoxia and increased capillary permeability, the latter causing damage to the blood-brain barrier. Vasodilatation, systemic hypotension and osmotic hypervolaemia are generalized manifestations of the high osmolality of contrast media. New low osmolality contrast media have been synthesized, utilizing a non-ionizing radical (such as amide or amine) instead of the carboxyl group of a tri-iodinated substituted benzoic acid. Such examples are metrizamide (Amipaque) and Iopamidol (both non-ionic amides) and Hexabrix (salts of a mono-acid dimer). Early clinical evaluation suggests that these low osmolality solutions have major advantages in reducing pain, heat sensation and adverse reactions of angiography.

Effects of recombinant human erythropoietin on renal function in chronic renal failure predialysis patients

A study was undertaken to ascertain the effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) on renal function in chronic renal failure predialysis patients. The effect of improvement of anemia by r-HuEPO on the rate of decline in renal function in predialysis patients has not been previously studied prospectively in a large number of patients using reliable measures of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). To investigate the efficacy, safety, and impact of r-HuEPO therapy in chronic renal insufficiency patients, a 48-week, randomized, open-label, multicenter study was initiated in 83 anemic, predialysis (serum creatinine 3 to 8 mg/dL) patients. Serial GFRs were measured using 125I-iothalamate clearance. Forty patients were randomized to the untreated arm and 43 patients to the treatment arm (50 U/kg r-HuEPO subcutaneously three times weekly). Baseline characteristics were comparable for the r-HuEPO-treated and untreated groups. During this 48-week study, GFR, mean arterial blood pressure, and daily protein intake were not significantly different between the two groups. There was a statistically significant increase in hematocrit for the r-HuEPO-treated group that was not associated with acceleration of deterioration in residual renal function. This was demonstrated by the lack of a significant (P = 0.376) between-group difference in mean change in GFR from baseline to last available value for the r-HuEPO-treated (-2.1 +/- 3.2 mL/min) and untreated (-2.8 +/- 3.5 mL/min) groups. This study concludes that r-HuEPO therapy improves anemia in predialysis patients and does not accelerate the rate of progression to end-stage renal disease.

Angiography of the spinal cord. A review of contemporary techniques and applications

✓ The authors present a current review of the development, techniques, and applications of angiographic studies of the spinal cord, with special emphasis on selective arteriography.

Rapid DNA fragmentation from hypoxia along the thick ascending limb of rat kidneys

Extensive DNA fragmentation, a marker for programmed cell death, was selectively and rapidly induced by hypoxia in the thick ascending limbs of rat kidneys. In isolated perfused kidneys, DNA breaks were present in medullary tubules as early as after 10 minutes of local hypoxia and were prevented by reduction of metabolic work. In a model of radiocontrast-induced acute renal failure, DNA breaks were detected selectively along thick ascending limbs as early as 15 minutes following insult, preceding overt morphological damage. Hypoxia induces rapid DNA fragmentation along thick ascending limbs, where programmed cell death could play an important role in nephron injury and kidney failure.

Increased glomerular filtration rate in patients with major burns and its effect on the pharmacokinetics of tobramycin

The clearance of endogenous creatinine in 20 burned patients, measured between the fourth and the 35th post-burn day, was a mean (+/- S.D.) of 172.1 p 48.4 ml per minute per 1.73 m2; in eight normal subjects the mean value was 125.4 g- 10.4 (P less than 0.02). Thirteen patients had values more than 2 S.D. above the normal mean. We confirmed this rise in glomerular filtration rate by measuring inulin or iothalamate clearance in nine patients. The pharmacokinetics of tobramycin were studied in 11 of the 20 patients and in eight normal subjects receiving continuous intravenous infusions of the drug. An inverse correlation was found between plasma half-life of the drug and creatinine clearance (r = 0.68, P less than 0.01). Increased creatinine clearances and shortened half-life of tobramycin occurred mainly in younger patients. Glomerular filtration rates in burned patients may rise to very high values and can be validly measured by creatinine clearance. The plasma half-lives of drugs with predominantly urinary excretion may decrease in patients with burns.

Net endogenous acid production is associated with a faster decline in GFR in African Americans

Increased acid excretion may promote renal injury. To evaluate this in African Americans with hypertensive nephrosclerosis, we studied the association between the net endogenous acid production and progression of kidney disease in 632 patients in the AASK trial. Protein and potassium intakes were estimated from 24 h urea nitrogen and potassium excretion, and used to estimate net endogenous acid production, averaged over 2 years, approximating routine intake. The link between net endogenous acid production and the I(125)iothalamate glomerular filtration rate (iGFR) and time to end-stage renal disease or doubling of serum creatinine was analyzed using mixed models and Cox proportional hazards regressions. The trend in higher net endogenous acid production was significantly associated with a faster decline in iGFR over a median of 3.2 years. After adjustment for age, body mass index, baseline iGFR, urine protein-to-creatinine ratio, and randomized treatment group, the trend in higher net endogenous acid production remained significantly associated with a faster decline in iGFR at a rate of 1.01 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) per year faster in the highest compared to the lowest quartile. However, in time-to-event analyses over a median of 7.7 years, the adjusted hazard ratio (1.10) for composite renal events per 25 mEq/day higher net endogenous acid production was not significant. Hence, our findings implicate endogenous acid production as a potential modifiable risk factor for progressive kidney disease.

Selective stimulation of renal nerves in the anesthetized dog. Effect on renin release during controlled changes in renal hemodynamics

The combined effects of low-frequency stimulation of the renal sympathetic nerves and reductions in renal arterial blood pressure on various hemodynamic parameters of the in situ kidney and on renal venous renin levels were determined in 17 dogs. Autoregulation of flow (measured using noncannulating electromagnetic probes) and glomerular filtration (measured using continuous extraction of 131 I-iothalamate) was followed before, during, and after nerve stimulation. Stimulation of isolated renal nerves (0.5 msec, 10-15 v, 0.1-3.0/sec) produced distinct changes in the release of renin with only minimal changes in the autoregulatory curves for glomerular filtration rate and renal plasma flow. Reducing arterial blood pressure from 150 to 50 mm Hg caused an increase in the release of renin from 4 to 35 ng/ml hour -1 . Stimulation of the renal nerves increased renin production at both pressures (from 4 to 10 ng/ml hour -1 at 150 mm Hg and from 35 to 50 ng/ml hour -1 at 50 mm Hg). In fact, renal nerve stimulation elicited increases in renin release at all pressures examined. In contrast, sodium excretion following nerve stimulation was depressed at comparable sodium loads in spite of minimal changes in renal hemodynamics. It appears that the effect of the renal sympathetic nerves on renin release is evident at all pressures; however, the sympathetic nerves are proportionately more important at pressures above 100 mm Hg and the renal artery pressure plays a greater role at pressures below 115-100 mm Hg.

Computerized tomography scanning appearances of intracranial meningiomas. An attempt to predict the histological features

✓ The computerized tomography (CT) scans of 102 patients with meningiomas confirmed at operation and histologically were reviewed, and the features displayed by the tumors were correlated with their histology. There were 54 transitional, 17 fibroblastic, 13 mixed transitional and fibroblastic, 10 angioblastic, and eight syncytial meningiomas. It was found that each of these meningioma variants exhibited common CT features that could be helpful in predicting the probable histology. These common features were: visible calcium aggregates, degree of surrounding edema, tumor density before and after contrast medium enhancement, homogeneity, and definition of outline. Visible calcium aggregates pointed to a diagnosis of either transitional or fibroblastic meningioma. None of the angioblastic or syncytial variants exhibited this feature. Most of the tumors were surrounded by edema of varying degrees (92%) but this was not considered to be a specific feature except perhaps in the fibroblastic type where the edema was almost invariably of moderate degree. Tumor attenuation values unenhanced by contrast medium were also nonspecific but in enhanced scans a homogeneous density distribution pointed to the tumor being most probably of the transitional type. The angioblastic and syncytial variants showed a marked tendency to exhibit low-density non-enhancing “cystic” areas or poorly defined, irregular tumor margins or fringes. All of the fibroblastic, transitional, or mixed fibroblastic and transitional variants were well defined with more or less regular shapes. The presence of marked edema, absence of visible calcium aggregates, non-homogeneous contrast enhancement with non-enhancing “cystic” components and poorly defined irregular borders point to aggressive or invasive characteristics more commonly found in the angioblastic and syncytial variants.