We had an interesting discussion yesterday about a young patient with ESRD secondary to diabetic nephropathy who was recently initiated on hemodialysis and reported headaches, chest heaviness and shortness of breath during dialysis sessions associated with a rise…
Hypertension in diabetic patients increases the risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications. It is quantitatively and qualitatively different from the non-diabetic population and characterized by disturbed circadian rhythm of blood pressure (BP) with increased variability. It also features…
So it is that time of the year again, NephMadness 2014! I am hoping it doesn’t distract me too much from the basketball… This year’s bracket has thrown up some very interesting match ups. I had a really…
Since the advent of minimally invasive renal denervation procedures about a decade ago, the nephrology community had been eagerly awaiting conclusion of the SYMPLICITY 3 trial. As many of you might already know, Medtronic, the device’s company issued…
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are large population based collaborative studies seeking genetic patterns that would explain common complex phenotypes. These large studies have given us much insight into the genetic risk profile of patients with diseases such as…
In June’s edition of JASN Jacques et al. highlighted the emerging importance of the role of chloride in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Their group developed a mouse model that over expressed the protein pendrin in the aldosterone-sensitive region…
Over the past few years, it has become apparent that hyperaldosteronism is far commoner than was once suspected and screening of unselected patients with hypertension reveals that about 5-10% of patients have primary hyperaldosteronism. In patients with resistant…
The debate about which thiazide diuretic to prescribe patients with hypertension has been going on for years without resolution and both HCTZ and chlorthalidone have their supporters. This topic has been discussed in the past on the blog…
Though adult nephrologists infrequently encounter these disorders in clinic, the Board Exam loves them. Below a short table describing some of these gain- and loss-of-function channel disorders that are worth remembering. The diuretic-targeted channels are shown under parenthesis…
Azilsartan medoxomil is a relatively new angiotensin receptor blocker and a study was recently published in Hypertension which compared the combination of two different doses of this drug with chlorthalidone against olmesartan in combination with hydrochlorothiazide for the…
