Análisis de la fragilidad y su relación con la calidad de vida en pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica avanzada / Analysis of frailty and its relationship with quality of life in patients with Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease

Introducción: La enfermedad renal crónica avanzada afecta principalmente a pacientes mayores de 65 años, con cierto grado de fragilidad y dependencia, lo que unido a la alta comorbilidad afecta en gran medida a la calidad de vida de estas personas. Objetivos: Valorar la fragilidad en pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica avanzada y su efecto sobre la calidad de vida, así como su relación con la dependencia. Material y Método: Se estudiaron 107 pacientes, con una mediana de edad de 74 años (RI=18); 37 mujeres (34,6%). Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de corte trasversal en la consulta de enfermedad renal crónica avanzada del Servicio de Nefrología del Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía de Córdoba. Se incluyeron pacientes en estadíos 4-5 sin tratamiento renal sustitutivo previo. Se emplearon los cuestionarios: FRAIL para evaluar la fragilidad; KDQOL-SF, para la valoración de la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud; y el test de Barthel para establecer el grado de dependencia. Resultados: El 61,3% de los pacientes presentó algún grado de fragilidad y un 26,2% afectación para realizar alguna actividad básica de la vida diaria. La fragilidad se asoció con peor calidad de vida, estando afectadas la mayoría de dimensiones del cuestionario KDQOL-SF, y con dependencia. Las dimensiones del KDQOL-SF más afectadas fueron Situación laboral y Sueño del cuestionario específico y Salud general y Vitalidad del cuestionario genérico. Conclusiones: La fragilidad está presente de forma importante en los pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica avanzada asociándose a peor calidad de vida y mayor grado de dependencia. (AU)

Introduction: Advanced chronic kidney disease primarily affects patients over 65 years old, often with a certain degree of frailty and dependency. This, coupled with high comorbidity, significantly impacts the quality of life for these individuals. Olivares-Collado E, et al. https://doi.org/10.37551/S2254-28842023026ORIGINALEnfermería Nefrológica 2023. Jul-Sep;26(3):268-276269Objectives: To assess frailty in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and its impact on quality of life, as well as its relationship with dependency.Material and Method: A total of 107 patients were studied, with a median age of 74 years (IQR=18); 37 were women (34.6%). A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the advanced chronic kidney disease clinic of the Nephrology Department at Reina Sofía University Hospital in Córdoba. Patients in stages 4-5 without prior renal replacement therapy were included. The following questionnaires were employed: FRAIL to assess frailty; KDQOL-SF for health-related quality of life assessment; and the Barthel Index to establish the degree of dependency.Results: Some degree of frailty was exhibited in 61.3% of patients, and 26.2% of them had difficulty performing some basic activities of daily living. Frailty was associated with a poorer quality of life, with most dimensions of the KDQOL-SF questionnaire affected, and with dependency. The most affected dimensions of the KDQOL-SF were Employment Status and Sleep from the specific questionnaire and General Health and Vitality from the generic questionnaire.Conclusions: Frailty is significantly present in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease, and it is associated with a lower quality of life and a higher degree of dependency. (AU)

The 'Phosphorus Week': involvement of Spanish nephrologists in the control of phosphorus blood levels.

BACKGROUND: The adequate control of phosphorus levels is a major concern for professionals involved in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), since high phosphorus levels are directly related to an increase in mortality. OBJECTIVES: To know the perception and involvement of Spanish nephrologists on the control of phosphorus levels, the so-called 'Phosphorus Week' was organized (November 13-17, 2017). METHODS: All members of the Spanish Society of Nephrology were invited to participate in an online survey, which included questions on aspects related to phosphorus control in patients with advanced CKD (aCKD) (glomerular filtration rate <30 ml/min/1, 73 m2) and in the different modalities of renal replacement therapies [peritoneal dialysis (PD), hemodialysis (HD) and renal transplantation (KT)]. RESULTS: 72 data entries were obtained in the survey with an inclusion of 7463 patients. Of them, 35.4% were on HD, 34.8% were KT, 24.2% had aCKD and 5.5% were on PD. The serum phosphorus level target for the four groups of patients was 4.5 mg/dl, with minimal variations depending on the area of ​​the national territory. The patients with better control of phosphataemia were patients with KT (93.3% had phosphorus values ​​<4.5 mg/dl), followed by patients with aCKD (65.6% with phosphorus <4.5 mg/dl). Only 53.6% of the patients on HD and 39.4% of those on PD reached the phosphorus goal <4.5 mg/dl. The group of patients on dialysis was the one in whom phosphorus binders prescribed the most (73.5% and 75.6% in HD and PD, respectively), being less frequent in patients with patients with aCKD (39.9%) and only 4.5 % in KT. CONCLUSIONS: The objectives of the Spanish nephrologists are in line with those recommended by the national and international clinical guidelines; however, there is still a wide room for improvement to achieve these goals, especially in HD and PD patients.

Highly sensitive and facile microRNA detection based on target triggered exponential rolling-circle amplification coupling with CRISPR/Cas12a.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression and have been implicated in many diseases. Herein, we develop a target triggered exponential rolling-circle amplification coupling with CRISPR/Cas12a (T-ERCA/Cas12a) system, which can achieve the ultrasensitive detection with simple operation and no annealing procedure. In this assay, T-ERCA combines the exponential amplification with rolling-circle amplification by introducing a dumb-bell probe with two enzyme recognition sites. miRNA-155 targets are activators that trigger exponential rolling circle amplification to produce large amounts of ssDNA, which is then recognized by CRISPR/Cas12a for further amplification. Compared with single EXPAR or RCA combined with CRISPR/Cas12a, this assay shows higher amplification efficiency. Therefore, benefiting from the excellent amplification effect of T-ERCA and the high recognition specificity of CRISPR/Cas12a, the proposed strategy shows a wide detection range from 1 fM to 5 nM with a LOD (limit of detection) down to 0.31 fM. Moreover, it shows good application ability for assessing miRNA levels in different cells, indicating that the T-ERCA/Cas12a may provide a new guidance for molecular diagnosis and clinical practical application.

Early Alterations of RNA Binding Protein (RBP) Homeostasis and ER Stress-Mediated Autophagy Contributes to Progressive Retinal Degeneration in the rd10 Mouse Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP).

The retinal degeneration 10 (rd10) mouse model is widely used to study retinitis pigmentosa (RP) pathomechanisms. It offers a rather unique opportunity to study trans-neuronal degeneration because the cell populations in question are separated anatomically and the mutated Pde6b gene is selectively expressed in rod photoreceptors. We hypothesized that RNA binding protein (RBP) aggregation and abnormal autophagy might serve as early pathogenic events, damaging non-photoreceptor retinal cell types that are not primarily targeted by the Pde6b gene defect. We used a combination of immunohistochemistry (DAB, immunofluorescence), electron microscopy (EM), subcellular fractionation, and Western blot analysis on the retinal preparations obtained from both rd10 and wild-type mice. We found early, robust increases in levels of the protective endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium (Ca2+) buffering chaperone Sigma receptor 1 (SigR1) together with other ER-Ca2+ buffering proteins in both photoreceptors and non-photoreceptor neuronal cells before any noticeable photoreceptor degeneration. In line with this, we found markedly altered expression of the autophagy proteins p62 and LC3, together with abnormal ER widening and large autophagic vacuoles as detected by EM. Interestingly, these changes were accompanied by early, prominent cytoplasmic and nuclear aggregation of the key RBPs including pTDP-43 and FET family RBPs and stress granule formation. We conclude that progressive neurodegeneration in the rd10 mouse retina is associated with early disturbances of proteostasis and autophagy, along with abnormal cytoplasmic RBP aggregation.

La «Semana del Fósforo»: implicación de la nefrología española en el control de los valores plasmáticos de fósforo / The “Phosphorus Week”: Involvement of Spanish nephrologists in the control of phosphorus blood levels

Antecedentes: El adecuado control de la fosfatemia es objeto de importante preocupación por los profesionales involucrados en el cuidado de los pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica (ERC), ya que los valores elevados de fósforo se encuentran directamente relacionados con un aumento de la mortalidad. Objetivos: Con el objetivo de conocer la percepción y la implicación que los nefrólogos españoles tienen de la necesidad de controlar el fósforo sérico, así como lograr una muestra lo más representativa posible de los valores séricos actuales, se organizó la denominada «Semana del Fósforo» (13-17 de noviembre de 2017). Métodos: Se invitó a participar en una encuesta on line a todos los socios de la Sociedad Española de Nefrología, que incluía preguntas sobre aspectos relacionados con el control del fósforo en pacientes con ERC avanzada (ERCA) (filtrado glomerular <30ml/min/1,73m2) y en las distintas modalidades de tratamiento renal sustitutivo (diálisis peritoneal [DP], hemodiálisis [HD] y trasplante renal [TR]). Resultados: Se obtuvieron 72 entradas de datos con 7.463 pacientes incluidos, de los cuales el 35,4% de ellos estaban en HD, el 34,8% eran TR, el 24,2% tenían ERCA y el 5,5% estaban en DP. El objetivo de fósforo sérico para los cuatro grupos de pacientes fue de 4,5mg/dl, con mínimas variaciones en función del área del territorio nacional. Los pacientes con mejor control de la fosfatemia fueron los pacientes con TR (el 93,3% presentaban valores de fósforo <4,5mg/dl), seguidos por los pacientes en ERCA (65,6% con fósforo <4,5mg/dl). Solo el 53,6% de los pacientes en HD y el 39,4% de los que estaban en DP cumplieron el objetivo de fósforo <4,5mg/dl. El grupo de pacientes en diálisis fue en el que más se prescribían captores de fósforo (73,5% y 75,6% en los pacientes en HD y DP, respectivamente), siendo menos frecuente en los pacientes en ERCA (39,9%) y solo el 4,5% en los TR. (AU)

Background: The adequate control of phosphorus levels is a major concern for professionals involved in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), since high phosphorus levels are directly related to an increase in mortality. Objectives: To know the perception and involvement of Spanish nephrologists on the control of phosphorus levels, the so-called “Phosphorus Week” was organized (November 13-17, 2017). Methods: All members of the Spanish Society of Nephrology were invited to participate in an online survey, which included questions on aspects related to phosphorus control in patients with advanced CKD (aCKD) (glomerular filtration rate <30ml/min/1.73m2) and in the different modalities of renal replacement therapies (peritoneal dialysis [PD], hemodialysis [HD] and renal transplantation [KT]). Results: 72 data entries were obtained in the survey with an inclusion of 7463 patients. Of them, 35.4% were on HD, 34.8% were KT, 24.2% had aCKD and 5.5% were on PD. The serum phosphorus level target for the four groups of patients was 4.5mg/dl, with minimal variations depending on the area of the national territory. The patients with better control of phosphatemia were patients with KT (93.3% had phosphorus values <4.5mg/dl), followed by patients with aCKD (65.6% with phosphorus <4.5mg/dl). Only 53.6% of the patients on HD and 39.4% of those on PD reached the phosphorus goal <4.5mg/dl. The group of patients on dialysis was the one in whom phosphorus binders prescribed the most (73.5% and 75.6% in HD and PD, respectively), being less frequent in patients with patients with aCKD (39.9%) and only 4.5% in KT. (AU)

Factores asociados a la calidad de vida y su predicción en pacientes renales en hemodiálisis / Factors associated with quality of life and its prediction in renal patients undergoing haemodialysis treatment

Antecedentes y objetivo: El presente estudio tiene como objetivo analizar los niveles de calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS) de los pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica avanzada (ERCA) en hemodiálisis y conocer las variables demográficas, médicas y psicológicas que se asocian con la CVRS y contribuyen a predecirla.Materiales y métodosEstudio transversal con 302 pacientes con ERCA en tratamiento de hemodiálisis. Se evaluaron las siguientes variables: 1) CVRS (cuestionario Shorter Form Health Survey Questionnaire); 2) Ansiedad y depresión (Escala de ansiedad y depresión de Goldberg); 3) Datos sociodemográficos, y 4) Datos médicos. Se realizaron análisis correlacionales, comparación de medias y análisis de vías con variables latentes (PALV).ResultadosEl PALV mostró que el 42% de la varianza en la CVRS podría explicarse por las variables evaluadas (χ2 / df=2,10; GFI=0,938; IFI=0,920; CFI=0,918; RMSEA=0,062; SRMR=0,056). La depresión fue el predictor más fuerte de la CVRS (-,71; p=0,002), seguida de la actividad física (-,19; p=0,044). La edad (-,122; p=0,034) y la comorbilidad (-,206; p=0,001) se asociaron débilmente con la CVRS física. La práctica de una actividad física regular está relacionado con la CVRS física (r=0,21; p=0,00) y mental (r=0,12; p=0,028).ConclusionesUn alto porcentaje de la varianza en CVRS se explica por los niveles de depresión y actividad física. Las intervenciones para promover la CVRS en pacientes con ERCA deben centrarse en promover la actividad física y cuidar la salud mental del paciente. (AU)

Background and objective: The present study aims to analyze the levels of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in haemodialysis, and to explore what demographic, medical and psychological variables are associated with HRQL and contribute to its prediction.Matrials and methodsCross-sectional study with 302 patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (ACKD) on haemodialysis. They were assessed: (1) HRQoL (Shorter Form Health Survey Questionnaire); (2) Anxiety and depression (Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale); (3) Sociodemographic data and (4) Medical data. Correlational analyses, means comparison and path analyses with latent variables (PALV) were conducted.ResultsThe PALV showed that 42% of the variance in the HRQL could be explained by the variables evaluated (χ2/df=2.10; GFI=.938; IFI=.920; CFI=.918; RMSEA=.062; SRMR=.056). Depression was the strongest predictor of HRQL (−.71; p=.002), followed by physical activity (−.19; p=.044). Age (−.122; p=.034) and comorbidity (−.206; p=.001) were weakly associated with physical HRQL. The practice of regular physical activity is related to the physical HRQoL (r=.21; p=.00) and mental (r=.12; p=.028).ConclusionsA high percentage of the variance in HRQoL is explained by the levels of depression and physical activity. Interventions to promote HRQoL in patients with ESKD should focus in promoting physical activity and taking care of patient's mental health. (AU)

Factors associated with quality of life and its prediction in renal patients undergoing haemodialysis treatment. / Factores asociados a la calidad de vida y su predicción en pacientes renales en hemodiálisis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to analyze the levels of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in haemodialysis, and to explore what demographic, medical and psychological variables are associated with HRQL and contribute to its prediction. MATRIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 302 patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (ACKD) on haemodialysis. They were assessed: (1) HRQoL (Shorter Form Health Survey Questionnaire); (2) Anxiety and depression (Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale); (3) Sociodemographic data and (4) Medical data. Correlational analyses, means comparison and path analyses with latent variables (PALV) were conducted. RESULTS: The PALV showed that 42% of the variance in the HRQL could be explained by the variables evaluated (χ2/df=2.10; GFI=.938; IFI=.920; CFI=.918; RMSEA=.062; SRMR=.056). Depression was the strongest predictor of HRQL (-.71; p=.002), followed by physical activity (-.19; p=.044). Age (-.122; p=.034) and comorbidity (-.206; p=.001) were weakly associated with physical HRQL. The practice of regular physical activity is related to the physical HRQoL (r=.21; p=.00) and mental (r=.12; p=.028). CONCLUSIONS: A high percentage of the variance in HRQoL is explained by the levels of depression and physical activity. Interventions to promote HRQoL in patients with ESKD should focus in promoting physical activity and taking care of patient's mental health.

Combining padlock exponential rolling circle amplification with CoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles for microRNA detection by nanoelectrocatalysis without a substrate.

In this report, an ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor for miR-21 detection was designed on the basis of a padlock exponential rolling circle amplification (P-ERCA) assay and CoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles (CoFe2O4 MNPs) by nanoelectrocatalysis without a substrate for signal amplification. Here, to improve catalytic efficiency, nanocatalyst (CoFe2O4 MNPs) and redox molecule (Tb) were co-immobilized onto the graphene (Gra) surface and formed Au@CoFe2O4/Tb-Gra probe. The obtained probe exhibits high-performance Tb catalysis by reducing the interaction distance between CoFe2O4 MNPs and Tb, and importantly, the detection sensitivity is significantly improved even in the absence of substrate (H2O2). Simultaneously, to further improve the sensitivity and specificity of the biosensor, P-ERCA assay was introduced. After multiple polymerization and nicking reactions, plenty of P-ERCA amplification product was produced and circular exponential signal amplification was achieved, giving an extreme sensitivity for miR-21 assay. The as-prepared biosensor shows a wide dynamic range of 1 fM to 2 nM with a low detection limit of 0.3 fM for miR-21 detection and exhibits high specificity and sensitivity.