Report on chronic dialysis in France in 2016

International audienceThe report on dialysis in France in 2016 from the French Speaking Society of Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation (SFNDT) provides an exhaustive and documented inventory on dialysis in France. It underlines the organizations that are important in 2016 to maintain a high quality dialysis. Several measures are proposed to maintain and improve the care of dialysis in France: (I) The regulation of dialysis treatment in France must be maintained; (2) a burden of care indicator is proposed to ensure that patients requiring the most care are treated in the centers. Proposals are also made to stimulate peritoneal dialysis offers, (3) to improve the calculation of the cost of dialysis and warn against lower reimbursement rates of dialysis, (4) to reduce transport costs by minimizing transport by ambulance (5). The SFNDT recalls recent recommendations concerning access to the renal transplant waiting list, are recalled; (6) as well as recommendations that require waiting until clinical signs are present to start dialysis (7). The SFNDT makes the proposal to set up advanced renal failure units. These units are expected to develop care that is not supported today: consultation with a nurse, a dietician, a social worker or psychologist, palliative care, and coordination (8). Finally, the financial and human resources for pediatric dialysis should be maintained. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Association Societe de nephrologie

Urinary Sodium-to-Potassium Ratio and Blood Pressure in CKD

Introduction: In the general population, urinary sodium-to-potassium (uNa/K) ratio associates more strongly with high blood pressure (BP) than either urinary sodium or potassium alone. Whether this is also the case among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. Methods: We studied the associations of spot urine sodium-to-creatinine (uNa/Cr), potassium-to-creatinine (uK/Cr), and uNa/K ratios with a single office BP reading in 1660 patients with moderate to severe CKD at inclusion in the CKD-REIN cohort. Results: Patients' median age was 68 (interquartile range [IQR], 59–76) years; most were men (65%), had moderate CKD (57%), and albuminuria (72%). Mean systolic and diastolic BP was 142/78 mm Hg. Spot uNa/Cr and uNa/K ratios were positively associated with systolic, mean arterial, and pulse pressures. The mean adjusted difference in systolic BP between the highest and the lowest quartile (Q4 vs. Q1) was 4.24 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53–6.96) mm Hg for uNa/Cr and 4.79 (95% CI, 2.18–7.39) mm Hg for uNa/K. Quartiles of spot uK/Cr were not associated with any BP index. The higher the quartile of uNa/K, the higher the prevalence ratio of uncontrolled (Q4 vs. Q1, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.19–1.72) or apparently treatment-resistant hypertension (Q4 vs. Q1, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.14–1.60). Findings were consistent in a subset of 803 individuals with 2 BP readings. Conclusion: In patients with CKD, higher urinary sodium excretion is associated with higher BP, but unlike in general population, lower potassium excretion is not. Urinary Na/K does not add significant value in assessing high BP risk, except perhaps for hypertension control assessment

J Am Med Dir Assoc

Objectives Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) are recommended for slowing chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression to kidney failure. Their effectiveness and tolerance as patients age remain uncertain because older patients have often been excluded from clinical trials. Design CKD-REIN cohort study. Setting and Participants We studied 2762 patients with CKD stages 3 and 4 and a clinical indication for RASi enrolled between 2013 and 2016 in 40 nephrology clinics nationally representative in France. Methods The primary outcome was the occurrence of kidney failure or death. The secondary outcomes were the occurrence of cardiovascular events and hospitalizations with acute kidney injury (AKI) or hyperkalemia. A propensity score analysis was performed. We used Cox models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for each outcome associated with RASi prescription and tested interactions with age. Results Patients' mean age was 67 years, including 841 (30%) aged 75 years and older; 2178 (79%) were prescribed RASi's. During a median follow-up of 4.6 years, 33% of patients reached kidney failure or died. RASi prescription was associated with a lower risk of kidney failure or death (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.66, 0.95), an association not modified by age (P for interaction = .72). It was not significantly associated with cardiovascular events. During the first 3 years of follow-up, 14% of patients were hospitalized with AKI or hyperkalemia, but risk was not higher among those prescribed RASi's (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.55-1.02) and age did not modify its effect (P for interaction = .28). Conclusions and Implications This study shows that aging does not appear to modify either RASi's beneficial effects on major CKD outcomes or their potential adverse effects

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field