ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Optimal glycemic control contributes to improved outcomes in patients with DM, particularly for microvascular damage, but blood glucose levels are too variable to provide an accurate assessment and instead markers averaging long-term glycemic load are used. The most established glycemic biomarker of long-term glycemic control is HbA1c. Nevertheless, HbA1c has pitfalls that limit its accuracy to estimate glycemic control, including the presence of altered red blood cell survival, hemoglobin glycation and suboptimal performance of HbA1c assays. Alternative methods to evaluate glycemic control in patients with DM include glycated albumin, fructosamine, 1-5 anhydroglucitol, continuous glucose measurement, self-monitoring of blood glucose and random blood glucose concentration measurements. Accordingly, our aim was to review the advantages and pitfalls of these methods in the context of CKD.
Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus , Glycemic Control , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic , Biomarkers/blood , Blood Glucose , Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology , Glycated Hemoglobin/analysis , Humans , Morbidity , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/diagnosis , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Mammography is a screening test with extensive international application and financial infrastructure promoting accessibility and affordability. Designed specifically to detect microcalcifications, mammography is powered to detect calcifications in vessel walls. Breast arterial calcifications (BAC) are one of the most common incidental findings documented by mammography. This review considers the literature regarding BAC in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors. The aim is to assess the possibility of using BAC as an early surrogate imaging biomarker of CVD.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases/diagnosis , Coronary Artery Disease/diagnosis , Mammography , Vascular Calcification/diagnosis , Biomarkers/analysis , Cardiovascular Diseases/complications , Coronary Artery Disease/complications , Humans , Mammography/methods , Risk Factors , Vascular Calcification/complicationsABSTRACT
The health and proper functioning of the cardiovascular and renal systems largely depend on crosstalk in the gut-kidney-heart/vessel triangle. Recent evidence suggests that the gut microbiota has an integral function in this crosstalk. Mounting evidence indicates that the development of chronic kidney and cardiovascular diseases follows chronic inflammatory processes that are affected by the gut microbiota via various immune, metabolic, endocrine, and neurologic pathways. Additionally, deterioration of the function of the cardiovascular and renal systems has been reported to disrupt the original gut microbiota composition, further contributing to the advancement of chronic cardiovascular and renal diseases. Considering the interaction between the gut microbiota and the renal and cardiovascular systems, we can infer that interventions for the gut microbiota through diet and possibly some medications can prevent/stop the vicious cycle between the gut microbiota and the cardiovascular/renal systems, leading to a decrease in chronic cardiovascular and renal diseases.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Inflammation/complications , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/complications , Animals , Cardiovascular Diseases/microbiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/pathology , Humans , Inflammation/microbiology , Inflammation/pathology , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/microbiology , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/pathologyABSTRACT
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been shown to result in profound changes in the composition and functions of the gut microbial flora which by disrupting intestinal epithelial barrier and generating toxic by-products contributes to systemic inflammation and the associated complications. On the other hand, emerging evidence points to the role of the gut microbiota in the development and progression of CKD by provoking inflammation, proteinuria, hypertension, and diabetes. These observations demonstrate the causal interconnection between the gut microbial dysbiosis and CKD. The gut microbiota closely interacts with the inflammatory, renal, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems via metabolic, humoral, and neural signaling pathways, events which can lead to chronic systemic inflammation, proteinuria, hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease. Given the established role of the gut microbiota in the development and progression of CKD and its complications, favorable modification of the composition and function of the gut microbiome represents an appealing therapeutic target for prevention and treatment of CKD. This review provides an overview of the role of the gut microbial dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of the common causes of CKD including hypertension, diabetes, and proteinuria as well as progression of CKD.
