Hydronephrosis by an aberrant renal artery: a case report.

Ureteropelvic junction obstruction is usually intrinsic and is most common in children. Aberrant renal arteries are present in about 30% of individuals. Aberrant renal arteries to the inferior pole cross anteriorly to the ureter and may cause hydronephrosis. To the best of our knowledge, although there are some papers about aberrant renal arteries producing ureteropelvic junction obstruction, there is no report of a case which is diagnosed by the new modalities, such as computed tomography angiogram (CTA) or magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA). We describe a 36-year-old woman with right hydronephrosis. Kidney ultrasonogram and excretory urogram revealed right hydronephrosis. CTA and MRA clearly displayed an aberrant renal artery and hydronephrosis. The patient underwent surgical exploration. For the evaluation of hydronephrosis by an aberrant renal artery, use of CTA and MRA is advocated.

Unilateral autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease with contralateral renal agenesis: a case report.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary renal disease. There are some reports in the literature concerning unilateral ADPKD. However, in adults, only a few cases of unilateral ADPKD with agenesis of contralateral kidney have been reported. We present a case of unilateral ADPKD with agenesis of contralateral kidney in a 66-yr-old man. Radiographic images showed the enlarged right kidney with multiple variable-sized cysts and the absence of the left kidney. The diagnosis of ADPKD was confirmed by the family screening. The patient received maintenance hemodialysis for endstage renal disease. We report a case of unilateral ADPKD associated with contralateral renal agenesis in a 66-yr-old male patient with a literature review.

The effect of cigarette smoking on the levels of nitric oxide metabolites in the sputum of patients with acute asthma.

Cigarette smoking may reduce the production of endogenous nitric oxide (NO), which plays an important role in inflammation of the asthmatic airway. NO metabolites in sputum were measured in 11 cigarette smokers and five nonsmokers, all with acute asthma. NO metabolite levels reflected the severity of asthmatic exacerbation, as they were significantly higher in patients with "severe," or "respiratory arrest imminent" asthma than in patients with "mild" to "moderate" asthma. There were no significant differences in sputum NO metabolite levels between smokers and nonsmokers with asthma, nor were any differences observed in NO metabolite levels for relative cigarette pack-years in smokers. These findings suggest that severe airway inflammation outweighs the effect of smoking on NO in the sputum of patients with asthma.

Nine Kinds of Tumor Markers in Patients on Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis / 대한신장학회잡지

Tumor markers have been clinically used to monitor the progression of various tumors or to assess their response to therapy. We studied the effects of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis(CAPD) on the serum levels of nine tumor markers; carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA), squamous cell carcinoma- related antigen(SCC), CYFRA 21-1, CA(carbohydrate antigen) 125, CA 19-9, -fetoprotein(AFP), prostate specific antigen(PSA), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and CA 72-4.Serum tumor markers were measured in 68 persons without chronic renal failure (CRF) as controls, and 46 stable CAPD patients who did not present any evidences of neoplasia. The results were as followings: 1) Serum AFP, PSA, hCG and CA 72-4 levels were almost within normal limits in the peritoneal dialysis similar to normal control groups; positive values were 2.2%, 3.8%, 8.3% and 4.0%, respectively. 2) Serum tumor markers, which were raised in the peritoneal dialysis compared to normal controls, include; CEA (5.29+/-3.6 vs. 1.42+/-1.0, P<0.001); SCC (3.90+/-5.57 vs. 0.9+/-1.1, P<0.01); CYFRA 21-1 (5.45+/-3.2 vs. 1.80+/-1.5, P<0.001); CA 125 (31.22+/-40.8 vs. 17.91+/-11.7, P<0.001); CA 19-9 (24.25+/-18.3 vs. 14.41+/-12.1, P<0.01). Raised CEA, SCC, CYFRA 21-1, CA 19-9 and CA 125 levels were detected 50%, 75%, 88.6%, 21.6% and 20.0% of peritoneal dialysis patients. In conclusion, serum levels of CEA, SCC, CYFRA 21-1, CA 19-9, CA 125 cannot be used as prognostic indicators for patients with malignancy while undergoing peritoneal dialysis treatment, but the other tumor markers such as AFP, PSA, hCG and CA 72-4 can be used as reliable tumor markers for patients of peritoneal dialysis similar to normal healthy people.