The excretional patterns of lactate, pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate in renal transplants.

The excretional patterns of lactate, pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate were investigated after renal transplantation in 36 patients. Fourteen patients had received a living-donor kidney with short ischemia time and good initial graft function, 22 had a cadaver transplant with an initial 125iothalamate clearance of more than 6 ml/min. The excretion of lactate and pyruvate did not vary significantly from that seen in normal controls or patients with uremia. In six patients with cadaver transplants, clearance values of alpha-ketoglutarate exceeded that of the glomerular filtration rate, indicating a net tubular secretion of this substance. During acute rejection episodes in 5 patients, no changes were seen in the excretional patterns of lactate, pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate.

Renal excretion of pyruvate, lactate and alpha-ketoglutarate in kidney donors before and after nephrectomy and in patients with terminal uremia.

The excretional patterns of lactate, pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate have been investigated in 7 patients with terminal uremia and in 10 kidney donors with normal renal function before and after unilateral nephrectomy. Methods for analysis of the three substances in urine were elaborated. In all patients, the levels of renal excretion of lactate and pyruvate were very low, and clearance values were independent of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). alpha-ketoglutarate clearance varied to some extent with renal function, but no correlation to GFR was found, and exceeded the GFR in uremic patients, indicating that the net result of renal handling of alpha-ketoglutarate may be a tubular secretion.

The functional pattern of the transplanted kidney during the first year.

Prospective studies on kidney function have been carried out 1-14 months after transplantation in two groups of recipients of renal transplants. Both groups were characterized by immediate graft function. The first group had transplants from living donors, the second had received cadaveric kidneys. In the first group a functional maximum (as measured by 125iothalamate, creatine and 131I-hippuran clearances) was reached during the first three weeks after transplantation, approximating 70% of the donors' bilateral preoperative function. In the second group kidney function was constant during the period of study, the values being almost identical with those observed in the first group. At investigation 12-14 months after transplantation, the two groups were compared with the remaining cadaveric transplants carried out during the period of study, the latter being primarily graft anuric. Graft function in the primarily anuric grafts was found to be poorer than in those with initial function. Graft survival, too, was poorer at one year in the group characterized by primary graft anuria than in the other groups. Graft survival at one year was 68% in cadaveric kidney transplants with good initial function.

Renal excretion of vancomycinin in kidney disease.

The renal climination of vancomycin has been determined in 18 patients. In 4 anuric patients in intermittent haemodialysis the dosage of vancomycin necessary to treat infection with penicillin-resistantstrains of Staphylococcus aureus was determined. In 14 patients with varying degrees of renal insufficiency vancomycin, creatinine and 125-iothalamate clearances were measured and found to be closely correlated. After administration of the initial vancomycin dose and attainment of the serum concentration desired, the maintenance dose can be calculated on the basis of the GFR.

Late failure or human renal transplants. An analysis of transplant disease and graft failure among 125 recipients surviving for one to eight years.

The purpose of the present paper was to study clinical, morphological and immunological aspects of late rejection of renal allotransplants. We have, therefore, analyzed the occurrence and nature of renal transplant disease and graft failure among 125 recipients surviving for 1 to more than 8 years after transplantation. In this population transplant disease as defined by the appearance of heavy proteinuria and/or steadily declining graft function occurred in 22 patients. At the closure date of the study on December 31, 1972 complete graft failure had occurred in 12 of these 22 patients and 4 of these have died. In addition two patients died in the presence of normal graft function, due to chronic hepatitis and metastatic cancer respectively. As based on clinical findings, pathophysiological features and renal lesions the patients with late transplant disease were classified into two groups and described accordingly. Group A, termed glomerular transplant disease, included a majority of 16 patients, constituting a rather homogenous idsease entity in relation to course of disease, clinical findings and renal lesions as studied by light-, immunofluorescence- and electron microscopy. All these patients presented with heavy proteinuria, which was non-selective in all but two, resulting eventually in complete loss of graft function in eight cases. All these patients developed hypoalbuminemia and hypercholesterolemia, and one half manifested a classical nephrotic syndrome. Arterial hypertension occurred in all patients except two. Glomerular structure as studied by light microscopy revealed a number of lesions of a rather polymorphous pattern in all patients in group A. Endomesangial proliferation, hyperplasia and segmental proliferation of epithelial cells and thickening of capillary walls were prominent features, although the degree of severity, extension and type of lesion occurred in such varying proportions that classification into any well characterized category of glomerulonephritis was not possible. All cases in group A revealed immune deposits, most frequently containing IgG, IgM, complement and fibrinogen. IgA, IgD and IgE were also demonstrated in a lesser proportion of cases in this group. The immunofluorescent pattern was a mixed granular and linear, and in no case strictly linear or granular alone. The ultrastructural investigation contains a detailed analysis of the