The impact of disadvantage on the development and progression of diabetic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Disadvantaged people include those experiencing economic, social or educational deprivation and, in some cases, those undergoing rapid transition from subsistence to industrial economies. Disadvantaged people worldwide are affected disproportionately by the global epidemic of diabetes. They are also at increased risk of kidney disease attributable to diabetes, and for many, the cost of managing their kidney disease far exceeds their available resources. METHODS: We review factors associated with disadvantage that may increase the risk of diabetic kidney disease, and the barriers to care that hinder attempts to provide an adequate therapeutic response. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A rapidly rising prevalence and magnitude of obesity among children and adults, increasing frequency of intrauterine exposure to diabetes, and inadequate access to healthcare are responsible, in part, for a surge in the frequency of diabetes and, in turn, diabetic kidney disease among disadvantaged people. These factors may also predispose to an earlier onset of diabetes and kidney disease, thereby perpetuating the disadvantage by reducing the earning potential of those affected through illness and disability.

[False aneurysm of the lateral superior genicular artery. A complication after the implantation of a knee prosthesis]. / Das Aneurysma spurium der A. genus superior lateralis. Eine Komplikation nach Implantation einer Knieendoprothese.

Arterial complications after total knee arthroplasty are rare. If the formation of a false aneurysm does occur, it usually affects the popliteal artery. We report the case of an 77 year old female with a false aneurysm of the lateral superior genicular artery. The patient was suffering from gonarthrosis and received a duocondylar knee replacement without resurfacing of the patella. Postoperatively, she reported anterior knee pain and a revision of the joint with lateral release was carried out. In the third postoperative week, a painful swelling in the lateral and superior aspect of the knee occurred. A scintigraphic investigation with enrichment in the early period was misinterpreted as infection. Ultrasonographic and angiographic investigations gave the right diagnosis of a false aneurysm. In the same angiographic investigation, the aneurysm could be cured by coil embolisation. The interval between the operation leading to the problem and the formation of the aneurysm, as well as the low incidence of this complication, made it hard to diagnose. Ultrasonographic and angiographic examinations allow for proper diagnosis in cases of unclear painful swellings. When dealing with an arterial complication following total knee arthroplasty, a specialized radiologist or vascular surgeon should be consulted immediately.

Molecular cloning of CYP1A from the estuarine fish Fundulus heteroclitus and phylogenetic analysis of CYP1 genes: update with new sequences.

Since we published a phylogenetic analysis of the CYP1A subfamily in 1995, several additional full-length sequences have been reported, including three members of an entirely new subfamily, CYP1B. Two avian sequences were recently published, so that CYP1A sequence data are now available from three of the five major vertebrate lineages. The two new branches that have been added to the CYP1 family tree significantly add to our understanding of P450 evolution. The inclusion of the CYP1Bs to the phylogenetic analysis allows us to root inferred trees. Addition of the avian CYP1As indicates that the CYP1A1/CYP1A2 duplication present in the mammalian lineage may have occurred after the divergence of birds and mammals. The number of fish species from which full-length coding regions of CYP1A genes have been sequenced has increased from four (trout, plaice, toadfish, and scup) to nine. These include CYP1A sequences from tomcod, butterflyfish, sea bream, sea bass, and the full-length sequence of CYP1A from the killifish Fundulus heteroclitus that is reported here. Phylogenetic analyses incorporating the new fish CYP1A sequences support our original conclusion that the fish CYP1As are monophyletic and indicate that the genes are evolving at very different rates in different species.