Is it Possible to Predict the Progression Rate in Korean IgA Nephropathy Patient? / 대한신장학회잡지

BACKGOUND: The progression rate of IgA nephropathy is known to be variable. We tried to draw an equation that can predict the interval till end stage renal disease (ESRD). METHODS: We retrospectively checked the risk factors of the progression such as demographic, clinical, laboratory, and histologic data by using simple linear regression in eighty eight (M:F=53:35) patients with biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy from Oct 1994 to Aug 2004. By multiple linear regression, a semiquantitative equation estimating the rate of progression was developed. We also evaluated whether there is a "point of no return" that progresses to ESRD which was shown by D'Amico ('93) and Scholl ('99) by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: Mean age and follow-up period were 34.1+/-13.6 years and 55.7+/-31.4 months. Among the risk factors, spot urine protein to creatinine ratio and mean arterial pressure during the follow-up period were significantly associated with the rate of progression (p<0.05). A semiquantitative equation estimating the rate of progression using the two factors was developed as follow. (delta)CCr=2.206-(0.128 x PCR(follow-up))-(0.023 x MAP(follow-up)) (MAPfollow-up:mean arterial pressure; regression coefficient=-0.023, PCRfollow-up:spot urine protein/creatinine; regression coefficient=-0.128). By ROC curve analysis, all patients with maximum serum creatinine over 4.1 mg/ dL during follow-up were found to progress to ESRD. CONCLUSION: We conclude that in Korean IgA nephropathy patients we could predict the rate of decline in renal function for individual patients semiquantitatively and we could confirm the existence of a "point of no return" during the course of IgA nephropathy.

Survival Differences by Dialysis Modality among Incident End-stage Renal Disease Patients with Preexisting Coronary Artery Disease / 대한신장학회잡지

BACKGROUND: The question of which dialysis modality should be recommended to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with a history of coronary artery disease (CAD) is encountered frequently in clinical practice, and the answer is still controversial. We tried to explore the patient's survival difference by the dialysis modality in incident ESRD patients with CAD. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed survival differences by dialysis modality in 56 new ESRD patients with preexisting CAD (HD: PD=30: 26) at yearly intervals with Poisson regression from September 1994 to February 2000. We also investigated the predictors of mortality with multivariate analysis by time-dependent Cox regression. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, sex, diabetes, co-morbidity, severity of CAD on commencement of dialysis between HD and PD patients with CAD. Cardiovascular deaths were observed in only HD group. In the CAD group, the relative risk (RR) of mortality in HD patients was equal or higher than that in PD patients for the first 3 years, but RR became lower in HD patient after 3 years. The significant predictors of mortality in CAD group were age, diabetes, arrhythmia and history of cardiac arrest at the time of dialysis initiation. CONCLUSION: When we choose a dialysis modality in incident ESRD patient with preexisting CAD, we could consider an early survival benefit of PD over HD and integrated dialysis approach as a treatment option in this patient group. Further investigation including control group is needed to evaluate in the multicenter, large-scaled manner.

Clinical Significance of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Patients with Lung Cancer and Tuberculous Pleurisy / 결핵

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis is an essential process for the growth and metastatic ability of solid tumors. One of the key factors known to be capable of stimulating tumor angiogenesis is the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The serum VEGF concentration has been shown to be a the malignant pleural effusion showing a correlation with the biochemical parameters. The VEGF has been shown to play a role in the inflammatory diseases, but rarely in the tuberculosis (TB). The serum and pleural fluid VEGF levels were measured in patients with lung cancer and TB. Their relationship with the clinical and laboratory parameters and repeated measurement 3 months after various anticancer treatments were evaluated to assess the utility of the VEGF as a tumor marker. METHODS: Using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the VEGF concentration was measured in both sera and pleural effusions collected from a total of 85 patients with lung cancer, 13 patients with TB and 20 healthy individuals. RESULTS: The serum VEGF levels in patients with lung cancer (619.9±722.8ph/ml) were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (215.9±191.1pg/ml), However, there was no significant difference between the VEGF levels in the lung cancer and TB patients. The serum VEGF levels were higher in large cell and undifferentiated carcinoma than in squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The serum VEGF levels of lung cancer patients revealed no significant relationship with the various clinical parameters. The VEGF concentrations in the malignant effusion (2,228.1±2,103.0pg/ml) were significantly higher than those in the TB effusion (897.6±978.8pg/ml). In the malignant pleural effusion, the VEGF levels revealed significant correlation with the number of red blood cells (r=0.75), the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)(r=0.70), and glucose concentration (r=-0.55) in the pleural fluid. CONCLUSION: The serum VEGF levels were higher in the lung cancer patients. The VEGF levels were more elevated in the malignant pleural effusion than in the tuberculous effusion. In addition, the VEGF levels in the pleural fluid were several times higher than the matched serum values suggesting a local activation and possible etiologic role of VEGF in the formation of malignant effusions. The pleural VEGF levels showed a significant correlation with the numbers of red blood cells, LDH and glucose concentrations in the pleural fluid, which may represent the tumor burden.