Posts by
Matthew Sparks
Top nephrology-related stories of 2012
It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. 2012 proved to be a year of ups and downs in the nephrology community. Large clinical trials from the failed phase 3 bardoxalone study in diabetic nephopathy to…
Poll: Top Nephrology-Related Stories of 2012
We would appreciate your vote for the top nephrology-related stories of 2012. Take a second and click any of the answers on the right hand side of the screen that you think should be considered in the Top…
Marinobufagenin and its role in Uremic Cardiomyopathy
Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death among ESRD patients. However, this excess cardiovascular mortality in ESRD patients should not be mainly attributed to coronary artery disease or myocardial infarction. The 4D study and other studies have…
Top nephrology-related stories of 2011
2011 proved to be another exciting year in the world of nephrology. 2010 was dominated with big clinical trials (SHARP, FHN, IDEAL), APOL1 gene variants, Propublica article on HD in the US, and medicare bundling. 2011 proved…
The Plot Thickens: Role of Plasmin in Edema Formation in Nephrotic Syndrome
I was at the ASN Kidney Week in Philadelphia last week and I had the chance to check out some abstracts and discuss with the authors. Three abstracts called my attention right away. I uploaded a post a…
Surviving Stress in the Kidney Medulla
Hypertonicity in kidney medullary interstitium is essential for urinary concentration. Osmolality in the papillary interstitium can reach up to 1200 mOsm/kg. How do cells in the renal medullary interstitium survive this hypertonic stress? Virtually all cells respond to…
Guyton was right all along: The primacy of the kidneys (and NaCl) in causing essential hypertension
Dr. Arthur C. Guyton (1919-2003) was one of the greatest physiologists of our time. One of Dr. Guyton’s many seminal contributions to medicine was to establish the role of kidneys in long-term blood pressure regulation via a mechanism…
Lactate gap in ethylene glycol toxicity
From Brindley P.G et al., CMAJ 4-10-07, 176(8) pg1097-1099 When making a decision about urgent dialysis it is important to have an much information as quickly as possible. In suspected ethylene glycol toxicity time is of the essence….
Hyperuricemia; treatment indications beyond gout?
What do you do when a patient with long standing CKD happens to have a uric acid level of 10mg/dl but has never had gout? Do you treat? Hyperuricemia occurs when an imbalance exists between uric acid production,…