Clinically detectable diabetic nephropathy (DN) begins with the development of microalbuminuria (MA). However, early renal dysfunction may be overlooked despite using that method. On the other hand, the gold standard in DN detection-that is, renal biopsy-is highly invasive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of neutrophil-gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and interleukin (IL)-18 and their relations to albumin excretion rate (AER) in children with normal-range albuminuria, e.g. in those considered as not presenting diabetic nephropathy. The study group consisted of 22 children (age 12.7 +/- 3.5 years) with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Long-term glycemic control was assessed on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels (8.52 +/- 1.78%). All patients presented normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (141 +/- 23 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) and normal urinary albumin excretion (13.09 +/- 7.63 mg/24 h). Fourteen healthy children served as a control group. Children with T1DM showed increased NGAL values with respect to controls-interestingly, both in serum (sNGAL) (867.43 +/- 341.98 vs. 655.29 +/- 196.17 ng/ml; p = 0.04) and in urine (uNGAL) (420.04 +/- 374.16 vs. 156.53 +/- 185.18 ng/ml, p = 0.04). IL-18 levels were not different in both groups both in serum (58.52 +/- 20.11 vs. 69.79 +/- 58.76 ng/ml; NS) and in urine (14.53 +/- 12.74 vs. 14.60 +/- 10.92 ng/ml; NS). Despite the relatively small study group, the positive correlation between sNGAL and AER was found [AER (mg/24 h) = 3.1893 + 0.01141 x sNGAL (ng/ml); r = 0.51; p = 0.014] as well as between uNGAL and AER [AER (mg/24 h) = 8.7538 + 0.01032 x uNGAL (ng/ml); r = 0.51; p = 0.016]. No relationship between sNGAL and uNGAL, and GFR and HbA1c were found. Normal-range albuminuria does not exclude diabetic nephropathy defined as increased sNGAL and uNGAL concentration. NGAL measurement can be more sensitive than MA and may become a useful tool for evaluating renal involvement in diabetic children.
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to evaluate the association between blood pressure (BP) and urinary angiotensinogen excretion (uAGT) and renal sodium excretion (uNa) in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1).MethodsThe study group consisted of 52 children with DM1 (28 males and 24 females) with albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) below 30 mg/g and glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) above 90 ml/min/1.73 m2. BP was assessed by 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).ResultsThe patients showed significantly increased uAGT values with respect to controls (median 0.00 and range 1.76 vs. 0.00 and 0.00 ng/mg, respectively). The significant increase of uAGT was observed even in prehypertensive patients. uAGT concentrations showed positive correlation with systolic and diastolic 24-h BP and with mean arterial pressure (MAP) (r = 0.594). uNa values were negatively correlated with BP parameters, uAGT, ACR and eGFR.ConclusionsAn increase in uAGT precedes hypertension (HTN) in normoalbuminuric children with DM1 and may be considered as a new marker of HTN. Decreased sodium excretion seems to be involved in the development of HTN and early renal injury. Both uAGT and uNa are associated with BP in normoalbuminuric diabetic children.
In conclusion, we postulate that alternative rituximab therapy should be taken into consideration in nephrotic patients not responding to standard therapy.
In children with primary hypertension, increased serum and urine NGAL may reflect kidney injury earlier than typical markers of hypertensive nephropathy.
The mortality rate for severe sepsis and septic shock remains high. Additionally, this life-threatening state poses serious difficulties for the treatment of patients. Unfortunately, the mechanism of sepsis is complex and not well understood. In this paper, we present the case of a 2.5-year-old female with septic shock treated with plasma exchange (PE) as a nonstandard therapy. We analysed the medical history of disease, including patient data, physical examination, laboratory tests and treatment. Unexpectedly, we achieved clinical improvement after the first PE. During PE, the dose of catecholamine was reduced. In addition, the level of C-reactive protein seemed to be a better predictor of the efficacy of PE in septic shock compared to procalcitonin. We conclude that PE may improve the survival rate for patients with septic shock. These data could be useful in the search and introduction of new or alternative methods of treatment for critically ill children.
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