[SGLT2 inhibitorsfor treatment of chronic kidney disease without diabetes or heart failure].

This review summarises the current knowledge of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) which is still the most potent and fast-acting antidepressant intervention. The modern procedure is safe when general precautions are taken. Cognitive side effects are transient in most patients, and concerns about side effects should not prevent relevant use. Due to the prognostic benefits of rapid remission, ECT should, in relevant patients, be considered early in the treatment course. Patients should be offered maintenance pharmacotherapy, and, in high-risk cases, tapering of the acute ECT course or maintenance ECT, in order to reduce the risk of relapse.

Unattended automated office blood pressure in living donor kidney transplant recipients.

PURPOSE: Hypertension is common in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). For the evaluation of blood pressure (BP), 24-h ambulatory BP measurements (ABPM) are considered superior to usual office measurements but are also resource demanding and troublesome to many patients. We therefore evaluated the use of unattended automated office BP (AOBP) during the first year following living donor kidney transplantation and compared AOBP with ABPM as obtained 12 months after transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were retrieved from a cohort of 57 KTRs (mean age 45 ± 14 years, 75% males) who all received kidneys from living donors and had a good graft function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 52 ± 16 ml/min/1.73 m2 at 12 months). Unattended AOBP was measured at each visit to the outpatient clinic using the BpTru® device, while ABPM was obtained by Spacelabs® equipment before and 12 months after transplantation. RESULTS: AOBP remained stable from month 2 (130.2 ± 10.8/82.2 ± 7.8 mmHg) to month 12 (129.0 ± 12.8/83.1 ± 9.6 mmHg) post-transplantation. At 12 months follow-up, ambulatory daytime systolic BP was slightly higher than AOBP (132.7 ± 10.7 vs. 129.4 ± 12.2 mmHg, p = 0.04), while diastolic BP was similar (82.7 ± 7.7 vs. 82.0 ± 10.2 mmHg). Using Bland-Altman plots, 95% limits of agreements were -17.9 to 24.5 mmHg for systolic and -16.5 to 15.1 mmHg for diastolic BP. When considering a target BP of ≤130/<80 mmHg, 62% had sustained hypertension, 9% white coat hypertension and 11% masked hypertension. Using multiple linear regression analysis, only urine albumin-creatinine ratio tended to predict a higher systolic AOBP (p = 0.07). CONCLUSION: In a cohort of stable living donor KTRs, mean values of unattended AOBP using BpTru® are comparable to daytime ABPM with a misclassification rate of approximately 20%.

Use of eculizumab in crescentic IgA nephropathy: proof of principle and conundrum?

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by a variable clinical course and multifaceted pathophysiology. There is substantial evidence to suggest that complement activation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Therefore, complement inhibition using the humanized anti-C5 monoclonal antibody eculizumab could be a rational treatment. We report here a 16-year-old male with the vasculitic form of IgAN who failed to respond to aggressive conventional therapy including high-dose steroids, cyclophosphamide and plasma exchange and who was treated with four weekly doses of 900 mg eculizumab followed by a single dose of 1200 mg. He responded rapidly to this treatment and has had a stable creatinine around 150 µmol/L (1.67 mg/dL) for >6 months. However, proteinuria was unabated on maximal conventional anti-proteinuric treatment, and a repeat renal biopsy 11 months after presentation revealed severe chronic changes. We believe this case provides proof of principle that complement inhibition may be beneficial in IgAN but also that development of chronicity may be independent of complement.

Diagnostic Performance of Coronary CT Angiography and Myocardial Perfusion Imaging in Kidney Transplantation Candidates.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the coronary artery calcium score (CACS), coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and a combination of these tools in the diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with chronic kidney disease referred for cardiac evaluation before kidney transplantation. BACKGROUND: The optimal method for the detection of obstructive CAD in potential kidney transplant patients has not yet been identified. Previous studies have found that established noninvasive stress tests have low diagnostic accuracy, while the diagnostic performance of coronary CTA remains unknown. METHODS: We prospectively studied 138 patients referred for pre-transplant cardiac evaluation (mean age 54 years; age range 22 to 72 years; 68% male; 43% treated with dialysis). All patients underwent CACS, coronary CTA, SPECT, and invasive coronary angiography. The results of the noninvasive tests were merged into integrated hybrid imaging results: Hybrid (CACS/SPECT) and Hybrid (coronary CTA/SPECT). RESULTS: The overall prevalence of obstructive CAD (≥50% reduction in luminal diameter) according to quantitative invasive coronary angiography was 22%. Two-thirds of the patients with obstructive CAD had a stenosis located in a proximal coronary segment. In a patient-level model, the sensitivity and specificity, respectively, for diagnosing obstructive CAD were as follows: CACS (threshold of 400), 67% and 77%; coronary CTA, 93% and 63%; SPECT, 53% and 82%; Hybrid (CACS/SPECT), 33% and 97%; and Hybrid (coronary CTA/SPECT), 67% and 86%. The sensitivity for diagnosing obstructive CAD in a proximal segment was 70% for CACS (threshold 400), 100% for coronary CTA, 60% for SPECT, 40% for Hybrid (CACS/SPECT), and 75% for Hybrid (coronary CTA/SPECT). CONCLUSIONS: Coronary CTA is a reliable test with high sensitivity and a high negative predictive value for diagnosing obstructive CAD before kidney transplantation. A noninvasive approach with use of either coronary CTA or a combination of coronary CTA and SPECT to rule out obstructive CAD seems recommendable in kidney transplant candidates. (ACToR-Study: Angiographic CT of Renal Transplantation Candidate-Study; NCT01344434).

Angiotensin blockade and progressive loss of kidney function in hemodialysis patients: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) declines during long-term dialysis treatment. In peritoneal dialysis, blockade of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system reduces GFR decline. Observational studies suggest that similar treatment may preserve kidney function in hemodialysis (HD). STUDY DESIGN: A multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial, with 1-year follow-up. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: Adult HD patients with urine output >300mL/24h, HD vintage less than 1 year, and cardiac ejection fraction >30%. Patients were included from 6 HD centers. INTERVENTION: Patients were randomly assigned to placebo or the angiotensin II receptor blocker irbesartan, 300mg daily. Target systolic blood pressure (BP) was 140mm Hg. OUTCOMES & MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcomes were change in GFR measured as the mean of creatinine and urea renal clearance together with urine volume. Secondary outcomes were change in albuminuria, renin-angiotensin II-aldosterone hormone plasma levels, and time to anuria. RESULTS: Of 82 patients randomly assigned (41 patients in each group), 56 completed 1 year of treatment. The placebo and irbesartan groups were comparable at baseline in terms of sex balance (26 vs 30 men), mean age (62 vs 61 years), median HD vintage (137 vs 148 days), mean HD time (10 vs 11h/wk), median urine volume (1.19 vs 1.26L/d), and mean GFR (4.8 vs 5.7mL/min/1.73m(2)). The target BP level was reached in both groups and BP did not differ significantly between groups over time. Adverse-event rates were similar. GFR declined by a mean of 1.7 (95% CI, 1.2-2.3) and 1.8 (95% CI, 1.1-2.4) mL/min/1.73m(2) per year in the placebo and irbesartan groups, respectively. Mean difference (baseline values minus value at 12 months) between groups was -0.0 (95% CI, -0.8 to 0.8). In each group, 4 patients became anuric. LIMITATIONS: GFR decline rates were lower than expected, reducing the power. CONCLUSIONS: At equal BP levels, we found that irbesartan treatment did not affect the decline in GFR or urine volume significantly during 1 year of treatment in HD patients. Irbesartan treatment was used safely in the studied population.

[Cerebral manifestations of influenza A (H1N1)v]. / Cerebrale manifestationer ved influenza A (H1N1)v.

We describe two patients with cerebral manifestations of influenza A (H1N1)v. A 13-year-old boy developed severe cerebral oedema and increased intracranial pressure despite medical treatment and external drainage of cerebrospinal fluid. He was treated with bifrontal decompressive craniectomy with good result. A 25-year-old man with a previous kidney transplant developed encephalopathy and convulsions. Magnetic resonance imaging showed encephalitis. The patient fully recovered. The cases demonstrate that influenza A (H1N1)v can cause seriously and potentially life-threatening neurological complications.