Search results for "DIALYSIS"
showing 10 items of 528 documents
Optimization of anemia treatment in hemodialysis patients via reinforcement learning
2013
Objective: Anemia is a frequent comorbidity in hemodialysis patients that can be successfully treated by administering erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). ESAs dosing is currently based on clinical protocols that often do not account for the high inter- and intra-individual variability in the patient's response. As a result, the hemoglobin level of some patients oscillates around the target range, which is associated with multiple risks and side-effects. This work proposes a methodology based on reinforcement learning (RL) to optimize ESA therapy. Methods: RL is a data-driven approach for solving sequential decision-making problems that are formulated as Markov decision processes (MDP…
The effect of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on hepatitis B vaccination in haemodialysis patients.
1996
Haemodialysis patients often fail to respond to hepatitis B vaccination. In this pilot study, 15 patients previously non-responsive to at least three 40 micrograms doses of hepatitis B vaccine were given 0.5, 5 or 10 micrograms kg-1 granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) subcutaneously 24 h prior to booster vaccination with a hepatitis B vaccine. Seven of the 15 patients developed antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAb) (35-7240 IU L-1) upon initial vaccination with GM-CSF and two of four individuals responded with low HBsAb titres of 15 and 60 IU L-1 when revaccinated with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and twice the dose of GM-CSF. The application of GM-CSF…
Protein oxidation in chronic kidney disease.
2013
An imbalance between oxidative processes and antioxidant systems has been widely demonstrated in chronic kidney diseases (CKD). In this study we enrolled 26 healthy subjects, 27 patients with CKD on conservative treatment (CT-CKD) with various degrees of renal failure, and 31 CKD subjects in haemodialysis treatment (HD-CKD), evaluated before and after a standard haemodialysis session. In each group we measured protein carbonyl groups (PC) as an index of protein oxidation, lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and two plasma markers of leukocyte activation, elastase and myeloperoxidase (MPO). In CT-CKD subjects the PC level was significantly higher than in normal controls, and it was negatively correla…
Active hepatitis B vaccination of dialysis patients and medical staff
1984
AbstractActive hepatitis B vaccination of dialysis patients and medical staff. One hundred six patients with terminal renal insufficiency and 29 medical personnel were given three doses of hepatitis B vaccine at an interval of 0, 1, and 6 months (Merck, Sharp and Dohme, West Point, Pennsylvania, part of a joint study no. 649). Chronic hemodialysis patients (N = 99) received 40 µg vaccine (V) i.m. Uremic patients, who were just about to start chronic dialysis treatment (N = 7), were given 40 µg V, and at the first vaccination 3ml hyperimmune globulin (HBIG) in addition. The medical personnel was alternately vaccinated with 20 µg V (N = 8), 40 µg (N = 11), 40 µg V, and 3ml HBIG at the first v…
Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis: do not be too late for the right diagnosis! Case report and short literature review
2020
Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is a rare clinical syndrome characterized by an acquired, inflammatory fibrocollagenous membrane encasing the small intestine, resulting in symptoms of bowel obstruction. It is still unclear whether early surgical intervention has an advantage over conservative management, but, in most reviewed case reports, it is preferred to preserve the surgical management in patients not responding to conservative measures, or when bowel ischaemia is occurring. We report a case of a 58-year old patients, affected by chronic renal failure, on treatment with peritoneal dialysis, in which a late diagnosis of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis was made, and where sur…
Incidence of hepatitis C virus infection in patients with chronic kidney disease on conservative therapy
2011
SummaryHepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a never-ending public health problem. Many studies have investigated the incidence of HCV infection among dialysis patients, but there have only been a few epidemiological studies in renal conservative therapy. We studied 320 subjects with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease living in Sicily, Italy. The incidence of HCV infection was 6.25%. In Europe, incidence ranges from 0.2% to 3.5%. It appears that the incidence of HCV infection is higher in the studied patient population than in the population as a whole.
7-nitroindazole protects striatal dopaminergic neurons against MPP+-induced degeneration: an in vivo microdialysis study.
2007
The neuropathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD) is the selective degeneration of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). In this study, using a microdialysis technique, we investigated whether an inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), 7-nitrindazole (7-NI), could protect against DAergic neuronal damage induced by in vivo infusion of 1-methyl-4-phenylpiridinium iodide (MPP(+)) in freely moving rats. Experiments were performed over 2 days in three groups of rats: (a) nonlesioned, (b) MPP(+)-lesioned, and (c) 7-NI pretreated MPP(+)-lesioned rats. On day 1, control rats were perfused with an artificial CSF, while 1 mM MPP(+) was infuse…
Induction of brain CYP2E1 changes the effects of ethanol on dopamine release in nucleus accumbens shell.
2009
CYP2E1 is an important enzyme involved in the brain metabolism of ethanol that can be induced by chronic consumption of alcohol. Recent works have highlighted the importance of this system in the context of the behavioural effects of ethanol. Unfortunately, the underlying neurochemical events for these behavioural changes, has not been yet explored. In this work, we have started this exploration by analyzing the possible changes in the neurochemical response of the mesolimbic system to ethanol after pharmacological induction of brain CYP2E1. We have used the dopamine extracellular levels in nucleus accumbens (NAc) core and shell, measured by means of microdialysis in vivo, as an index of th…
Local salsolinol modulates dopamine extracellular levels from rat nucleus accumbens: shell/core differences.
2008
Salsolinol (SAL), a condensation product of dopamine and acetaldehyde that appears in the rat and human brain after ethanol ingestion, has been largely implicated in the aetiology of alcoholism. Although the behavioural consequences of systemic or intracerebral SAL administrations have been described, the neurochemical effects of pharmacologically relevant doses of SAL and other tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQs) in the brain areas involved in alcohol addiction are practically unknown. To gain an insight into this topic, male Wistar rats were stereotaxically implanted with one concentric microdialysis probe in either the shell or the core of the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Treatments involved loc…
Acetylcholine release in the hippocampus of the urethane anaesthetised rat positively correlates with both peak theta frequency and relative power in…
2000
The need to achieve a clearer understanding of relations between hippocampal theta characteristics and cholinergic septohippocampal neuron activity, prompted us to re-examine, in the urethane-anaesthetised rat, the statistical relationships between the electrophysiological and neurochemical variables using a procedure which is believed to enhance significantly the degree of confidence with which parameters of theta recorded with classic macroelectrodes can be related to concomitant acetylcholine output measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Firstly, the theta rhythm and the acetylcholine content were derived from the same hippocampus. Secondly, th…