Journals
2015 EN
Maria Pietrzak-Nowacka · Krzysztof Safranow · Janina Palacz
+3 more
The aim of the study was to evaluate an association between kidney and cyst dimensions and anthropometric, clinical and biochemical parameters of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients. Forty-nine adults, ADPKD-diagnosed patients aged 36 ± 11 years, and 50 healthy controls were included in the study. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT with 75 g of glucose) was performed and venous blood was collected to measure biochemical parameters and various ion concentrations. Ultrasound abdominal examinations were performed with special emphasis on kidney and cysts parameters. In the ADPKD group, mean kidney length correlated positively with age, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting glucose and glucose and C-peptide concentrations after 120 min of glucose intake and negatively with Mg(2+) concentration and glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Multivariate analyses adjusted for age and gender showed that higher mean kidney length and maximal cyst diameter were significant predictors of higher SBP (p = 0.034 and 0.046, respectively) and DBP (p = 0.024 and 0.034, respectively), higher maximal cyst diameter was a significant predictor of higher OGTT 2-h C-peptide concentration (p = 0.033), higher mean cyst diameter was a significant predictor of lower eGFR (p = 0.039) and higher mean kidney length was a significant predictor of lower serum magnesium concentration (p = 0.043). In the ADPKD patients with normal GFR, mean kidney length and mean cyst diameter measured by ultrasonography are associated negatively with GFR and positively with blood pressure. Higher mean kidney length and cyst diameter might be indicators of disorders of glucose and magnesium metabolism which precede renal failure in patients with ADPKD.
Journals
2015 EN
Cristiane Moraes · Sandra Mara Marinho · Julie Calixto Lobo
+6 more
Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) present altered levels of appetite hormones such as acyl-ghrelin (orexigenic) and obestatin (anorexigenic), which may contribute to anorexia. Physical exercise may affect these hormones and improve appetite in these patients.
Journals
2015 EN
Maria Goretti Polito · S.R. Moreira · Sônia K. Nishida
+1 more
Functional and morphological renal lesions have been widely described in leprosy for decades. Nevertheless few studies have assessed renal function pre- and during treatment after the advent of multidrug therapy (MDT).
Journals
2015 EN
Maria Guedes Marques · Carlos Botelho · Pedro Maia
+2 more
Vascular access (VA) dysfunction limits hemodialysis delivery, which increases morbidity and mortality. The most com mon cause of VA failure is thrombosis, due to flow limiting stenosis resulting from neointimal hyperplasia. This occurs not only due to hemodynamic factors but also by systemic ones related to vascular atherosclerosis, inflammation and calcification, which has developed a simple vascular calcification score (SVCS) predictor of vascular calcification and arterial stiffness. The NKF-K/DOQ recommends several diagnostic procedures for VA surveillance. Blood access flow (Qa) has predictive power for the detection of stenosis. Our aim was to evaluate the role of systemic factors, especially SCVS, on Qa.
Journals
2015 EN
Joong Won Lee · Zeina Jaffar · Kent E. Pinkerton
+6 more
Growing evidence indicates that prenatal exposure to maternal smoking is a risk factor for the development of asthma in children. However, the effects of prenatal environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure on the genome and lung immune cells are unclear. This study aims to determine whether in utero ETS exposure alters DNA methylation patterns and increases airway hyperreactivity (AHR) and inflammation. Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were exposed daily to a concentration of 1.0 mg/m(3) ETS. AHR was determined in the 6-week-old offspring by measurement of airway resistance. Global and gene promoter methylation levels in lung DNA from offspring were analyzed by luminometric methylation and pyrosequencing assays, respectively. Offspring exposed to ETS showed a marked increase in the number of alveolar macrophages in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and level of IL-13 in the airways compared with offspring of filtered-air exposed dams (controls). ETS exposure significantly augmented AHR compared with controls. In the methylation analysis, ETS-exposed offspring had a significantly lower level of global DNA methylation than the controls. We observed a significant increase in IFN-γ, and significant decrease in IL-13 methylation levels in the ETS group compared with controls. Collectively, these data suggest that in utero ETS exposure increases the risk of pulmonary inflammation and AHR through altered DNA methylation, but additional studies are needed to fully determine the causal link between changes in methylation and cytokines levels, as well as AHR.
Journals
2015 EN
Camila Morais Gonçalves da Silva · Leonardo Fernandes Fraceto · Michelle FranzMontan
+4 more
Ropivacaine (RVC) is an aminoamide local anesthetic widely used in surgical procedures. Studies with RVC encapsulated in liposomes and complexed in cyclodextrins have shown good results, but in order to use RVC for lengthy procedures and during the postoperative period, a still more prolonged anesthetic effect is required.
Journals
2015 EN
Cleber Ferraresi · Thomas Beltrame · Fernando Fabrizzi
+10 more
Recently, low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) has been used to improve muscle performance. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of near-infrared light-emitting diode therapy (LEDT) and its mechanisms of action to improve muscle performance in an elite athlete. The kinetics of oxygen uptake (VO2), blood and urine markers of muscle damage (creatine kinase--CK and alanine), and fatigue (lactate) were analyzed. Additionally, some metabolic parameters were assessed in urine using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H NMR). A LED cluster with 50 LEDs (λ = 850 nm; 50 mW 15 s; 37.5 J) was applied on legs, arms and trunk muscles of a single runner athlete 5 min before a high-intense constant workload running exercise on treadmill. The athlete received either Placebo-1-LEDT; Placebo-2-LEDT; or Effective-LEDT in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial with washout period of 7 d between each test. LEDT improved the speed of the muscular VO2 adaptation (∼-9 s), decreased O2 deficit (∼-10 L), increased the VO2 from the slow component phase (∼+348 ml min(-1)), and increased the time limit of exercise (∼+589 s). LEDT decreased blood and urine markers of muscle damage and fatigue (CK, alanine and lactate levels). The results suggest that a muscular pre-conditioning regimen using LEDT before intense exercises could modulate metabolic and renal function to achieve better performance.
Journals
2015 EN
Maria Stella Stein · Cherry Kilbride · Frances Reynolds
There is widespread acceptance that patients demonstrating neglect/hemi-inattention (HI) following right hemisphere stroke (RHS) underachieve functionally compared to their counterparts without neglect. However, empirical evidence for this view needs examination. The purpose of this review is to critically appraise relevant studies that compared outcomes from RHS patients with/without hemi-attention and suggest more robust follow-up research.
Journals
2015 EN
James A. McLoughlin · Christopher Barr · Benjamin L. Patritti
+3 more
The aim of this study was to examine the effect of 6 min of walking on fatigue, exertion and spatiotemporal, kinematic and kinetic gait parameters in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Journals
2015 EN
Maria Dich Herold
This article explores the interconnectedness of romantic identities and the in/appropriateness of drug use for young women who are in a process of cessation or decline from extensive use of illicit drugs. By applying a discourse psychological framework to the analysis of seven young women's romantic partner narratives, it is examined how they are informed by prevailing cultural understandings of young femininity as they position themselves vis-à-vis their romantic partners, and how these positioning patterns relate to their conceptualizations of drugs and drug use. Three overall positioning patterns characterize the young women's romantic narratives: Heroic boyfriend's vis-à-vis decent girlfriends; irresponsible boyfriend's vis-à-vis mature girlfriends; and constructions of equal partners-in-crime. Each of these patterns enables different meanings of the presence of drugs within the relationship. Thus, the study supports the notion that romantic relationships are significant contexts to consider as a part of an in-depth understanding of what it entails giving up drugs for romantically engaged young women. It is suggested that researchers need to consider this significant context in light of prevailing cultural understandings of young womanhood.