Dent Disease is a rare, X-linked inherited disease of pediatric nephrology. It can be filed under the category of “renal tubular dysfunction” and is also known as “X-linked Recessive Nephrolithiasis.” Clinical characteristics of Dent Disease include recurrent renal…
As discussed in a recent post describing the success of early goal-directed therapy for sepsis, the test for serum lactate has enjoyed a rise in prominence in recent years. However, all that is lactic acid is not necessarily…
Hot topic of research: do kidney stem cells kidney exist? Stem cells are defined as a subpopulation of cells which retain the ability of self-renewal and differentiation into a specialized cell type. Stem cells specific to many tissue…
I heard a talk on “Sepsis & Renal Failure” today, which reviewed much of the recent evidence-based medicine trials regarding the treatment of sepsis in the ICU. Honestly, the main message I came away with was this: most…
The finding of fibrils on electron microscopy of a renal biopsy specimen may be an extremely important clue in establishing the diagnosis. In fact, for many of the conditions listed below, the diagnosis may be based PURELY on…
RPGN is a nephrologic emergency, and one of the more exciting consult cases for nephrologists to participate in. Much like dealing with a stroke or heart attack, delays in initiating therapy can lead to substantially worsened outcomes. Prompt…
Beginning in the 2009, Nephrology became one of the final medical subspecialities (along with Endocrinology) to join the Medical Specialties Matching Program (MSMP), a division of the National Residency Matching Program, a.k.a. “The Match.” Prior to this, individual…
The treatment of hepatitis C-induced cryoglobulinemia can be broken down into two different arms, both of which are usually necessary: 1. Antiviral Therapy, to get at the root-cause of the problem. 2. Immunosuppression Therapy, to prevent the acute…
Sometimes the formulations of vitamin D can get confusing. Here’s a few key points: 1. The terms “vitamin D2” and “vitamin D3” do not refer to the hydroxylation status of vitamin D–either D2 or D3 can exist in…
Systemic amyloidosis can involve nearly any organ, and the kidney is often involved. Recall that there are two flavors of amyloidosis: AL amyloidosis (in which the amyloid is formed by light chains as a result of a paraproteinemia)…