When it comes to monitoring proteinuria, some nephrologists prefer following urine albumin levels, whereas others prefer monitoring urine protein levels. While there is nothing inherently wrong with either, it is helpful to keep the following reference values in…
Image from Radiology Picture of the Day http://www.radpod.org/2007/06/19/xanthogranulomatous-pyelonephritis/ Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) is a rare but severe complication of chronic UTIs. I think of it (in simplistic terms) as a pyelonephritis so severe that it results in loss of…
Each day the average American creates 1 mEq/kg of acid which needs buffering. Most of the acid comes from protein. Our kidneys normally do all the buffering through 2 main systems – titratable and non-titratable acids Titratable acids…
MicroRNAs: one of the sexiest topics in the science community these days! Pick up a copy of Science, Nature, or Cell and you can usually find something to do with microRNAs within. What do these have to do…
Just heard an interesting talk on endothelial dysfunction and its relation to nephrology. One thing I learned is that the vascular endothelium is actually “hairy”, as demonstrated from this electron micrograph (taken from this website). These little hairs…
Meet Jennifer Harman. She is apparently one of the most famous female professional poker players in the world, having done quite well at the prestigious “World Series of Poker” tournament. It turns out she is also a kidney…
How common is contrast nephropathy in the general outpatient setting? When you send one of your outpatients to get a CT scan with iv contrast, what is the real risk? Much of the randomized, controlled trial data on…
As much as kidney transplant outcomes have improved over the decades, we’re not perfect: a sizable group of patients end up transitioning to dialysis therapies after the kidney transplant stops working. What should be done with the allograft…
Last week’s poll results: who should provide funding for large, randomized controlled drug trials? Most respondents (58%) chose the diplomatic answer and said that it should be a combination between government and pharmaceutical companies. I was somewhat surprised…
Peter Mundel, a well-known researcher of podocyte biology, gave our Renal Grand Rounds today. Here’s what I took away from this morning’s talk: -regulation of the podocyte’s actin cytoskeleton is postulated to be the final common pathway in…
