A Modified Protocol with Improved Detection Rate for Mis-Matched Donor HLA from Low Quantities of DNA in Urine Samples from Kidney Graft Recipients

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Diffusion tensor imaging of frontal lobe white matter tracts in schizophrenia

We acquired diffusion tensor and structural MRI images on 103 patients with schizophrenia and 41 age-matched normal controls. The vector data was used to trace tracts from a region of interest in the anterior limb of the internal capsule to the prefrontal cortex. Patients with schizophrenia had tract paths that were significantly shorter in length from the center of internal capsule to prefrontal white matter. These tracts, the anterior thalamic radiations, are important in frontal-striatal-thalamic pathways. These results are consistent with findings of smaller size of the anterior limb of the internal capsule in patients with schizophrenia, diffusion tensor anisotropy decreases in frontal white matter in schizophrenia and hypothesized disruption of the frontal-striatal-thalamic pathway system

Early IgA nephropathy: paradigm evolving from a clinical concept into a histological measure

AbstractThe designation of “early” IgA nephropathy is often used in patients with normal renal function, no or mild proteinuria, and absence of other features, but the term is in fact poorly defined judging from the varying norms adopted. Even with stringent clinical criteria used to characterize clinical early IgA nephropathy, these may not be correlated with the prediction of disease outcome, nor with the severity of renal lesions. Due to such limitations, the clinical reference to early IgA nephropathy represents more a concept than an accurate measure. The histological definition of “early” IgA nephropathy appears to be different as the grading of biopsy permits one to segregate by semiquantitation patients with early renal lesion and very low risk of progression. This review puts the emphasis on the morphologic definition of early IgA nephropathy based on objective criteria, and on its practical consequences. The clinical implications include a better patient selection in therapy, and the potential to enhance results of treatment as well as for the appraisal of clinical trials. We also suggest that all patients suspected for IgA nephropathy, including those in early clinical stage should undergo renal biopsy because the information yielded are critical to the management and therapy