Mesangial cells–which historically have received less attention than their more “sexy” neighbor cell types of the glomerulus such as podocytes & endothelial cells–are actually quite interesting. They were originally seen as having purely a “matrix” function–that is, serving…
Heard a very good Renal Grand Rounds yesterday from visiting professor Michael Emmett, currently chair of the Dept. of Medicine at Baylor, regarding the anion gap. Amongst the pearls I took away from his lecture: 1. “Gamblegrams” (left),…
We’ve known this medical factoid since we were medical students: you can’t successfully replete a potassium-depleted patient if they have low magnesium levels. But what is the mechanism by which this occurs? One possible explanation is put forth…
The TGF-beta family of proteins has wide effects on nearly every tissue of the body–it is one of the key players in a mammalian development and homeostasis. It also has particular relevance to renal pathophysiology as one of…
One of the earliest time-saving tricks I learned as a Nephrology fellow was to always ask the covering housestaff to have a specimen of piping hot urine waiting for me at the time of the initial consult: I…
DOPPS is an acronym which stands for “Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study.” It is one of the largest prospective study of ESRD patients worldwide and is comprised of a random sampling of dialysis patients in a random…
Fabry’s Disease is an X-linked disease caused by a mutation in the alpha-galactosidase A gene, resulting in the accumulation of glycosphingolipids within lysosomes. In the kidney under electron microscopy, this is manifested as the presence of multiple round…
The glomerular filtration barrier is traditionally thought of as being comprised of 3 layers: (1) the fenestrated endothelium, (2) the glomerular basement membrane, and (3) the podocyte foot processes. Focusing on (2) the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), this…
Why is there a picture of a toad on the Renal Fellow Network? In reading the most recent edition of ESRD/Dialysis “NephSAP” (the ASN’s periodic review of relevant nephrology-themed literature), I learned about an unusual cause of hyperkalemia:…
The Hemoglobin A1c has proven to be one of the most utilized and helpful tests in the management of diabetes. Instead of relying on random blood sugars to adjust a diabetic’s insulin regimen, the HgbA1c (which increases in…
