One of the key autoregulatory mechanisms that control blood flow in the kidney is the myogenic response. Subject to increased pressure, the renal afferent arteriole responds with an increase in muscle tone and a decrease in diameter. To investigate the myogenic response of an afferent arteriole segment of the rat kidney, we extend a mathematical model of an afferent arteriole cell. For each cel...

The myocardial infarct causes prolonged activation of the renin-angiotensin system and profoundly influences cardiac performance and renal excretory capabilities. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the myocardial infarct is also associated with an altered expression of AT1a receptors (AT1aR) mRNA in the heart and the kidney. To this end male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected...

Contrast-induced acute kidney injury is an important clinical event with a worldwide increasing number of cases. Medullary hypoperfusion and hypoxia due to constriction of vasa recta are main factors in the pathophysiology of acute kidney injury. However, the mechanism of contrast media (CM)-induced vessel constriction is not known. We tested the hypothesis that vasa recta constriction is a con...

TG(mRen2)27 (Ren2) transgenic rats overexpress the mouse renin gene, manifest hypertension, and exhibit increased tissue ANG II levels and oxidative stress. Evidence indicates that elevated tissue ANG II contributes to oxidative stress, increases in glomerular macromolecular permeability, and consequent albuminuria. Furthermore, angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R) blockers reduce albuminuria and...

The investigation of epithelial ion transport at the cellular level by means of electrophysiological techniques is hampered by the small size of epithelial cells. Moreover, interpretation of experiments is complex due to poorly defined and highly variable paracellular leaks (shunt pathways). In search of a new experimental approach we developed a technique to isolate renal epithelial cells (dia...

BACKGROUND The inferior vena cava (IVC) parameters, including its diameter and collapsibility index have been evaluated for fluid status for over 30 years, but little is known about the impacts of patient characteristics on IVC parameters. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between individual patient characteristics and IVC parameters in healthy Chinese adult volunteers....

PURPOSE To evaluate the relationship between the horizontal ciliary sulcus diameter and anterior chamber diameter measured by 35 MHz ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) and the horizontal corneal diameter (white to white [WTW]) measured by scanning-slit topography and to assess the repeatability (intraexaminer difference) of the 2 methods. SETTING Department of Orthoptics and Visual Science, Kitas...

A 55-year-old woman, diagnosed with a renal mass by abdominal ultrasonography (USG) in an external medical centre, presented to our hospital. The medical history was unremarkable except for diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The haemogram and urine tests were normal. The only pathology revealed in routine biochemistry tests was increased glucose level (164 mg/dL). The repeat USG performed in...

We report a case of inflammatory pseudotumor of the kidney. A 73-year-old man presenting with general malaise and minimal grade fever visited a medical department in our hospital. Computerized tomography incidentally revealed a tumor, 3.5 cm in diameter, in the lower pole of the left kidney, and he was referred to our outpatient department. Selective left renal arteriography disclosed an avascu...

A true estimation of gestational age (GA) plays an important role in quality maternity care and scheduling the labor date. This study aimed to evaluate the normal fetal kidney length (KL) and its correlation with GA. A cross-sectional study on 92 pregnant women between 8th and 10th week of gestation with normal singleton pregnancy underwent standard ultrasound fetal biometry and kidney length m...