Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a pathological process involving thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia and microvascular occlusion. TMA is common to haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) associated with shiga toxin or invasive pneumococcal infection, atypical HUS (aHUS), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and other disorders including malignant hypertension. HUS complicat...

The full complement of nephrons is present at birth, although newborn nephrons are heterogeneous in glomerular size and proximal tubule length. Anatomy and function mature postnatally. Although fetal urine is excreted into the bladder by 10 to 11 weeks of gestation, the ability to conserve and excrete sodium, concentrate urine, and reabsorb substrates such as glucose evolves to maturity over th...

This cross-sectional study was performed to determine ocular findings in renal transplant recipients and to correlate them with certain clinical characteristics related to transplantation. The study was performed on 150 patients who had received a renal transplant at least three months earlier and had serum creatinine levels < 3 mg/dL. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmologic examinatio...

The genetic basis and cellular defects of a number of primary magnesium wasting diseases have been elucidated over the past decade. This review correlates the clinical pathophysiology with the primary defect and secondary changes in cellular electrolyte transport. The described disorders include (1) hypomagnesemia with secondary hypocalcemia, an earlyonset, autosomal-recessive disease segregati...

Renal failure is a frequent complication in advanced liver disease (Conn, 1973; Papper, 1978). Gastrointestinal bleeding and forced diuresis may be the causes in fulminant hepalic. failure and cirrhosis (Hecker and Sherlock, 1956; Shear et al., 1965). Hepatic coma or an associated metabolic abnormality may affect renal function or aggravate pre-existing renal abnormalities in severe liver disea...

ognized as responsible for renal disease in tropical areas. Renal manifestations are mainly associated with two parasites: (i) Plasmodium malariae, which usually gives rise to an immune-complex mediated mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis (GN) several weeks after the onset of symptoms; and (ii) Plasmodium falciparum, which can cause different types of renal alterations, ranging from asymptomat...

Renal hypertension is due to or associated with congenital, inherited or acquired forms of renal disease. The commonest cause is some form of parenchymal disease with reflux nephropathy and the chronic glomerulopathies being the most important categories. Renovascular disease, although only constituting 10% of secondary hypertension in childhood, is important in view of its potential for cure b...

In the past decade major advances in our understanding of renal tubular hydrogen ion secretion and bicarbonate reabsorption have provided new insight into the pathophysiology of renal tubular acidosis. Thus "fragment to fragment clings" and the number of disorders categorized within the syndrome grows, until we have come to know and name four types, with many subtypes. We hope this new perspect...

Mitochondria are intracellular organelles with a variety of vital functions, including the provision of energy in the form of adenosine 5'-triphosphate. Increasingly, we are becoming more aware of the importance of mitochondrial dysfunction in a number of common medical conditions. In this review and overview, we focus on the growing evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in either...

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are endogenously produced short noncoding regulatory RNAs that can repress gene expression by posttranscriptional mechanisms. They can therefore influence both normal and pathological conditions in diverse biological systems. Several miRNAs have been detected in kidneys, where they have been found to be crucial for renal development and normal physiological functions as well a...