ABSTRACT
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing problem worldwide. The disproportionate increase in the burden of cardiovascular disease in patients with CKD may be significantly contributed by nontraditional risk factors. Increased arterial stiffness has been recognized as an important player in contributing to this morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to report the effect of L-arginine on arterial stiffness and oxidative stress in patients with CKD. Thirty patients with stage II to IV CKD were administered 9 g of L- arginine per day orally for a period of 12 weeks. The parameters evaluated at baseline, at 8 weeks, and at the end of 12 weeks were serum nitric oxide (NO), carotid.femoral pulse wave velocity (cf PWV), and radial artery pulse wave analysis which included aortic augmentation pressure (AP), aortic augmentation index (AIx), aortic augmentation index at heart rate of 75 bpm, subendocardial viability ratio, radial pressures, and central aortic pressure. Serum levels of NO and malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated at baseline and at the end of 12 weeks. The control group was composed of age- and sex-matched healthy individuals. Twenty-five patients completed the study. Two patients were lost to follow.up; three patients developed adverse events and were excluded. Baseline NO levels were low (13.55 ± 7.49 µM/L) in all the subjects. Administration of L-arginine resulted in improvement in the carotid-radial PWV (m/s) (10.08 ± 1.72 at baseline to 8.56 ± 1.16 by 12 weeks; P < 0.001), cf PWV (m/s) (13.06 ± 2.65 at baseline to 10.62 ± 1.93 at 12 weeks; P < 0.001), Aortic Augmentation Index (%) (32 ± 10.34 at baseline to 17.84 ± 8.05 at 12 weeks; P < 0.001), aortic augmentation pressure (mm of Hg) (14.03 ± 6.53 at baseline to 7.12 ± 3.85 at 12 weeks; P < 0.001), and NO (µM/L) (13.55 ± 7.49 at baseline to 30.22 ± 9.8 at 12 weeks; P < 0.001). There was no significant change in the levels of MDA (nanomol/ml) (20.0 ± 10.14 at baseline and 19.16 ± 9.36 at 12 weeks; P = ns). In conclusion, PWV, an indicator of arterial stiffness, is greatly increased even in the early stages of CKD. Supplementation of L-arginine is a safe, well-tolerated, and effective way of improving endothelial dysfunction in patients with CKD.
ABSTRACT
Proliferative lupus nephritis deserves aggressive therapy and cyclophosphamide plays a pivotal role. Thirty nine patients with proliferative lupus nephritis (Class III-7 patients and Class IV- 32 patients) with a median follow up of 38 months were considered for this observational study. All the patients received induction therapy with intravenous methylprednisolone. Cyclophosphamide was given intravenously initially in monthly pulses for six months and later quarterly pulses until remission was achieved or until the target dose (200 mg/kg) was reached. The treatment with intravenous methylprednisolone was repeated in the event of a nephritic flare. Later the corticosteroid was reduced to a minimum effective dose and cyclophosphamide was changed to either azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil. At the time of the last follow up, 82.05% of the patients were in remission (complete remission 51.28% and partial remission 30.77%). The median interval to achieve remission in responders was 15 months. Early diagnosis (P=0.04), a higher creatinine clearance at presentation (P=0.02), and concurrent use of an ACEI or an ARB (P=007) significantly favored attaining remission. Five patients experienced a doubling of serum creatinine and one of them became dialysis dependent. Risk of doubling of serum creatinine correlated with a low Ccr (P=0.03) at presentation, occurrence of renal flares (P=0.034) and failure to achieve remission (P=0.0001). The parameters like serum creatinine, serum C3, serum C4, activity and chronicity indices on renal biopsy, hypertension were not statistically significant. Therapy with cyclophosphamide, if initiated early, helps in inducing remission and hence can retard the progression to CKD.
