Oxalate is a terminal metabolite in humans. Glyoxylate becomes glycine and pyruvate via alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) action, and excess glyoxylate gets converted to oxalate by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glycolate oxidase. Besides being derived endogenously through metabolism, oxalate…
Antiretroviral therapy has had a significant impact on improving the survival of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with their survival now being similar to patients not infected with HIV. With improved long-term survival, the prevalence of…
I am often startled by the fact that patients are exposed to 120-200 L of dialysis solution during each dialysis treatment! Unsurprisingly then, patients on hemodialysis are particularly vulnerable to small molecular weight contaminants in the water used…
A visual abstract, sometimes called a graphical abstract or an infographic, is a simplified pictorial representation of a study, concept, or idea. A visual abstract gives viewers a gist of the study. It serves as a review, an…
Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) have emerged as a breakthrough therapy for the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) reducing key cardiovascular and kidney endpoints. These effects appear to be independent of their effects on blood pressure and glucose….
1. Dress the Part- Obviously, wear professional clothing similar to what you would to a traditional interview – the added benefit is that you can quickly adapt – for example, slip off a blazer- if all your interviewers…
What do migraines, holy fire, witch trials, and kidney failure have in common? That would be ergotamine. Ergotamine is a compound with a wide spectrum of pharmacologic activity produced by fungus in the claviceps species. It has agonist…
For lovers of an underdog, the story of Tamm Horsfall protein is one of the coolest in science. Discovered in the 1950s, Tamm Horsfall protein was acknowledged but largely ignored for decades, the quirky fun uncle of the…
Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a neurologic emergency that is associated with poor outcomes. It may be caused by traumatic brain injury, intracerebral infarction or hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and CNS tumors. Mannitol has long been the first-line osmotic…
The close relationship between extracellular (free) calcium concentration and parathyroid hormone (PTH) is tightly sensed by the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) expressed at the membrane of parathyroid cells. This control is so well regulated that even a small increase…