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Objective To investigate the serum level of placental growth factor (PLGF) and explore its relationship with left ventricular structure and function in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.Methods Seventy-two non-dialysis CKD patients and sixteen age-and sex-matched healthy controls were included in this study.Serum PLGF level was measured by ELISA.Cardiac structure and function were assessed by two dimensional echocardiography.Results (1)The serum level of PLGF in CKD patients[3.32(2.97,19.77) ng/L] was significantly higher compared to the healthy controls [2.33(2.27,2.49) ng/L] (P ＜ 0.01).It progressively increased with the decline of renal function (P＜ 0.05/6).(2)The interventricular septum (IVS),left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW) was significantly higher while the ejection fraction was significantly lower in CKD patients.(3)The serum PLGF level was higher in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) than those without LVH [19.05(3.31,21.05) ng/L vs 2.99(2.60,3.32) ng/L,P ＜ 0.05].The prevalence of LVH in the group above median PLGF level was significantly higher than that in the group below the median PLGF level (70％ vs 18％,P ＜ 0.01).(4)PLGF level was positively correlated with left ventricular mass index (LVMI),systolic pressure,diastolic pressure,24 h urine protein,Scr,UA,BUN,iPTH,the history of high blood pressure and was negatively correlated with LVEF,hemoglobin,albumin,eGFR (P ＜ 0.05).Multiple regression results showed that UA,Scr,LVEF,Hb were associated with PLGF level independently (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions CKD patients have elevated level of PLGF.It has a relationship with cardiac structure and function.It may participate in the occurrence of cardiovascular events.
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Purpose To investigate the role of PTEN in podocyte injury in patients with diabetic nephropathy ( DN) . Methods Uri-nary samples from 30 patients with DN and 10 healthy volunteers were collected to detect the level of PCX by ELISA. Renal biopsies were reviewed to observe the morphological changes. All patients with DN were divided into three groups by glomerular lesion. The ex-pression of p-Akt and PTEN in glomeruli was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results The levels of PCX in the urine were signifi-cantly higher in patients with DN compared with those in healthy volunteers, and gradually increased along with glomerular lesion aggra-vating. The expression of p-Akt and PTEN increased in patients with DN compared with healthy volunteers. Although the expression of p-Akt and PTEN decreased with the aggravation of glomerular lesion, they were still higher than that in volunteers. There were obvious-ly positive correlation between the level of PCX and 24-h urinary protein and negative correlation between the level of PCX and the ex-pression level of p-Akt and PTEN. Conclusion PTEN down-regulation may be associated with podocyte injury in DN, which may be associated with the phosphorylation of Akt.
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Objective To determine the correlation between serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and non-spoon-shaped blood pressure of non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients,also to observe the impact of the serum ADMA level on the structure and function of left ventricle.Methods One hundred and twenty cases of non-dialysis CKD patients underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were divided into three groups:CKD1-2,CKD3,CKD 4-5.Serum ADMA concentration was measured using liquid chromatograph and other clnical data such as uric acid (UA),left ventricular mass index (LVMI),24 h urine protein,and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were collected for further statistical analysis.Results (1) With the decline of renal function,ADMA concentration was increased,from CKD 1-2 (1.70±0.48) μmol/L rose to CKD 4-5(4.46±1.56) μmol/L (P ＜ 0.05).(2)There were 42 cases of CKD patients with hypertension and 78 cases of CKD patients with normal blood pressure.The serum ADMA levels in hypertension group was significantly higher than those in non-hypertensive group [(3.53±1.70) μmol/L vs (2.01±0.65) μmol/L,P ＜ 0.05].(3)There were 50 cases of non-spoon-shaped normotensive CKD patients and 28 cases of spoon-shaped normotensive CKD patients.Serum ADMA level and LVMI in non-spoon-shaped group were significantly higher than that in spoon-shaped group when kidney functions appeared to be equal (P ＜ 0.05).(4)Serum ADMA level was positively correlated with UA(r=0.352,P ＜ 0.01),LVMI (r =0.345,P＜ 0.05),24 h urine protein(r =0.200,P ＜ 0.05),and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (r =0.309,P ＜ 0.01),but negatively correlated with the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)(r =-0.329,P ＜ 0.01) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)(r =-0.011,P ＜ 0.01).Multiple regression results showed that eGFR,UA,LVMI,hs-CRP,24 h urine protein were associated with ADMA level.The regression equation was Y =1.991-0.011 × [eGFR] + 0.002 × [UA] + 0.008 × [LVMI] + 0.036 ×[hs-CRP]-0.084× [24 h urinary protein].Conclusions Serum ADMA level begins to increase in early stage CKD and it progressively increases with the decline of renal function,also the non-spoonshaped blood pressure ratio and the left ventricular damage increase.Kidney function,urine protein and microinflammatory state may impact on the serum ADMA level.
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Objective To explore the changes of etiology and mortality of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) in the last 20 years in Guangdong region. Methods A total of 3140 UGIB cases diagnosed in Guangdong General Hospital from January 1990 to October 2009 were analyzed with retrospective analysis. Groups were divided according to admission chronological order and age to analyze the causes of UGIB to get the trend of changes and influencing factors. Results UGIB occurred more in men than in women, the gender ratio was 2. 5∶1. There was no significant change in gender composition between the first and later 10 years. Peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB) was the main cause of UGIB in young and middle-age patients (age0. 05) and esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EVB) (11. 7% vs 12. 9%, P>0.05) remained stable. The occurrence of AGML bleeding significantly increased than before (32. 4% vs 18. 8%,P<0. 01), and became one of the most important causes of UGIB. Conclusions PUB is still the most important cause of UGIB in Guangdong region. AGML becomes another important cause of UGIB in elder patients, which may relate to the increasing use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anti-platelet and antineoplastic medicine.