Endemic (Balkan) nephropathy is aristolochic acid nephropathy.

Role of exposure analysis in solving the mystery of Balkan endemic nephropathy.

We evaluated the role of exposure analysis in assessing whether ochratoxin A or aristolochic acid are the agents responsible for causing Balkan endemic nephropathy. We constructed a framework for exposure analysis using the lessons learned from the study of endemic goiter within the context of an accepted general model. We used this framework to develop an exposure analysis model for Balkan end...

Role of environmental toxins in endemic (Balkan) nephropathy. October 2006, Zagreb, Croatia.

An international symposium, held in Zagreb, Croatia, in October 2006, brought together basic scientists and clinical investigators engaged in research on endemic (Balkan) nephropathy, a chronic renal tubulointerstitial disease of previously unknown cause that often is accompanied by upper urinary tract urothelial cancer. Although this disease is endemic in rural areas of Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croat...

Current Research in Balkan Endemic Nephropathy and Associated Urothelial Cancer

Balkan Endemic Nephropathy and Associated Urothelial Cancer: Current Status and Future Research

_______________________________ Correspondence to: Goce B Spasovski, MD, PhD, Department of Nephrology, Clinical Center Skopje, Vodnjanska 17, 1000 Skopje, Macedonia, Fax: +389 2 3220 935 or +389 2 3231 501, E-mail: [email protected] Balkan Endemic Nephropathy and Associated Urothelial Cancer: Current Status and Future Research V. Stefanovic Institute of Nephrology and Hemodialysis, Faculty of...

A historical overview of Balkan Endemic Nephropathy (BEN) in relation to published hypotheses.

Balkan Endemic Nephropathy occurs with a high rate of prevalence in Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. The first cases described in Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania date to the late 1950s and early 1960s. BEN has been characterized to date as a chronic, slowly progressive familial tubular interstitial renal disease of unknown aetiology. The disease is characterized by i...

Fifty years of research in Balkan endemic nephropathy: where are we now?

Despite broad investigations into the possible role of genetic factors, environmental agents and immune mechanisms, the etiology of Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is only partially understood. An increased incidence of upper urothelial cancer in patients with BEN and in populations from endemic settlements has been demonstrated. Genetic studies have landed support for genetic predisposition t...