Both BEI and BRS convey prognostic information that may have clinical implications for patients with cardiovascular diseases in general.

During the ten year period from 1981 to 1991, percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) was performed in 180 renal arteries in 137 patients, where the underlying renovascular disease was fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) in 30 patients (22%) and arteriosclerotic vascular disease (AVD) in 107 (78%). A preinterventional work-up and a re-evaluation of the patients after one year was designed for the assessment of the clinical, functional and technical outcome. Successful technical dilatation was achieved in 97% of procedures with FMD patients and in 82% of procedures with AVD patients. A beneficial effect on the blood pressure and the renal function was registered in both groups. The overall cure and improvement rate for hypertension was 86% in the FMD group and 64% in the AVD group after one year's follow-up. A significant gain in the total renal function was registered in both groups, the average increase in glomerular filtration rate being 13% (P < 0.001) for the FMD group and 11% (P < 0.001) for the AVD group one year after PTRA. Renal function was improved or unchanged in 89% of FMD patients and 74% of AVD patients. The improvement in renal function was made by the revascularized kidney. Renal vein renin investigation predicted the clinical outcome with an excellent diagnostic accuracy as no renin negative patient became normotensive, and renin positive patients, who did not turn normotensive, were in almost 90% of the cases affected by technical failure or restenosis/contralateral stenosis. Thus, the sensitivity of renal vein renin investigation was 95% and the specificity 75%. The outcome for patients with hypertension and renal insufficiency was considerably poorer than for the whole group of patients, with only a 20% success rate for hypertension, but 50% in this group had increased or unchanged GFR after intervention. The angiographic one-year follow-up revealed a recurrence rate of 6.7% for FMD and 15.1% for AVD. For the entire series of patients, the incidence of major complications was 5.4%, including one indirect fatality, while the incidence of minor complications was 5%. In conclusion, PTRA will cure or improve blood pressure in most patients with renovascular hypertension, and it preserves and even improves renal function in these patients. Complications and recurrence are in fact not very common and PTRA appears be the best first approach in all but ostial lesions for treatment of renovascular hypertension.

Background and objectives The calcimimetic cinacalcet reduced the risk of death or cardiovascular (CV) events in older, but not younger, patients with moderate to severe secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) who were receiving hemodialysis. To determine whether the lower risk in younger patients might be due to lower baseline CV risk and more frequent use of cointerventions that reduce parathyroid hormone (kidney transplantation, parathyroidectomy, and commercial cinacalcet use), this study examined the effects of cinacalcet in older ($65 years, n=1005) and younger (,65 years, n=2878) patients.Design, setting, participants, & measurements Evaluation of Cinacalcet HCl Therapy to Lower Cardiovascular Events (EVOLVE) was a global, multicenter, randomized placebo-controlled trial in 3883 prevalent patients on hemodialysis, whose outcomes included death, major CV events, and development of severe unremitting HPT. The age subgroup analysis was prespecified.Results Older patients had higher baseline prevalence of diabetes mellitus and CV comorbidity. Annualized rates of kidney transplantation and parathyroidectomy were .3-fold higher in younger relative to older patients and were more frequent in patients randomized to placebo. In older patients, the adjusted relative hazard (95% confidence interval) for the primary composite (CV) end point (cinacalcet versus placebo) was 0.70 (0.60 to 0.81); in younger patients, the relative hazard was 0.97 (0.86 to 1.09). Corresponding adjusted relative hazards for mortality were 0.68 (0.51 to 0.81) and 0.99 (0.86 to 1.13). Reduction in the risk of severe unremitting HPT was similar in both groups. ConclusionsIn the EVOLVE trial, cinacalcet decreased the risk of death and of major CV events in older, but not younger, patients with moderate to severe HPT who were receiving hemodialysis. Effect modification by age may be partly explained by differences in underlying CV risk and differential application of cointerventions that reduce parathyroid hormone.

The present findings motivate greater attention being paid to the risk of major side-effects after right-side biopsies from women's kidneys, as well as after biopsies from younger patients and patients with lower BMI.

Although sympathetic nerve activity is elevated in hypertensive patients with renal artery stenosis, our results do not suggest that this adrenergic over-activity is directly linked to the observed high cardiovascular mortality. Mortality in hypertensive patients with renovascular disease remains high whether an interventional treatment is performed or not, possibly due to the concomitant coronary disease.

Both duplex ultrasound and captopril renography are associated with high specificity and negative predictive values for detection of renal artery stenosis. Sensitivity and positive predictive values are at least as good for duplex ultrasound compared with captopril renography. Given that duplex ultrasound is easier to perform and more cost effective, we propose that it should be the method of first choice when screening for renal artery stenosis in a hypertensive population.

We conclude that BEI, which is markedly reduced in hypertensive patients with CRF, may convey information on arterial baroreflex function that is complementary to BRS.

Background We sought to develop a novel non-contrast multi-parametric MRI (mpMRI) protocol employing several complementary techniques in a single scan session for a comprehensive functional and structural evaluation of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Methods In the cross-sectional part of this prospective observational study, 38 subjects aged 18‒79 years with type 2 diabetes and DKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] 15‒60 ml/min/1.73 m2), and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers (HV) underwent mpMRI. Repeat mpMRI was performed in 23 DKD subjects and 10 HV. By measured GFR (mGFR), 2 DKD subjects had GFR stage G2, 16 stage G3, and 20 stage G4/5. A wide range of MRI-biomarkers associated with kidney hemodynamics, oxygenation, and macro/micro-structure were evaluated. Their optimal sensitivity, specificity and repeatability to differentiate diabetic versus healthy kidneys, and categorize various stages of disease as well as their correlation with mGFR/albuminuria was assessed. Results Several MRI-biomarkers differentiated diabetic from healthy kidneys and distinct GFR stages (G3 versus G4/5); mean arterial flow (MAF) was the strongest predictor (sensitivity = 0.94 and 1.0, specificity = 1.00 and 0.69, p = 0.04 and 0.004, respectively). Parameters significantly correlating with mGFR were specific measures of kidney hemodynamics, oxygenation, microstructure and macrostructure, with MAF being the strongest univariate predictor (r = 0.92, p&lt;0.0001). Conclusions A comprehensive and repeatable non-contrast mpMRI protocol was developed that as a single, non-invasive tool allows functional and structural assessment of DKD, which has the potential to provide valuable insights into underlying pathophysiology, disease progression and analysis of efficacy/mode of action of therapeutic interventions in DKD.