Offspring of parents with Balkan Endemic Nephropathy have higher C-reactive protein levels suggestive of inflammatory processes: a longitudinal study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the characteristic extensive tubulointerstitial fibrosis, Balkan Endemic Nephropathy (BEN) is usually considered a non-inflammatory disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined a marker of inflammation, C-reactive protein (CRP), in the offspring of patients with BEN, a population at risk for BEN, prior to development of established disease to determine if an inflammatory process could be identified in the early stages of the disease. In 2003/04, 102 adult offspring whose parents had BEN and a control group of 99 adult offspring of non-BEN patients were enrolled in this prospective study. This cohort was re-examined yearly for four consecutive years. Levels of serum CRP were measured in years 3 and 4 and compared between groups. The data were analyzed with mixed models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to controls, offspring of BEN parents had statistically higher CRP levels in two consecutive years, suggestive of early inflammatory reactivity. Whenever the mother was affected by BEN (both parents, or mother only), serum CRP was significantly increased, but not if only the father had BEN. CRP was inversely related to kidney cortex width but not to markers or renal function.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Early stages of BEN may involve inflammatory processes. The observation of a maternal involvement supports the concept of fetal programming, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of other chronic kidney diseases.</p

Metals and kidney markers in adult offspring of endemic nephropathy patients and controls: a two-year follow-up study

Abstract Background The etiology of Balkan Endemic Nephropathy, (BEN), a tubulointerstitial kidney disease, is unknown. Although this disease is endemic in rural areas of Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Serbia, similar manifestations are reported to occur in other regions, for instance Tunisia and Sri Lanka. A number of explanations have been stated including lignites, aristolochic acid, ochratoxin A, metals, and metalloids. Etiologic claims are often based on one or a few studies without sound scientific evidence. In this systematic study, we tested whether exposures to metals (cadmium and lead) and metalloids (arsenic and selenium) are related to Balkan Endemic Nephropathy. Methods In 2003/04 we recruited 102 adults whose parents had BEN and who resided in one of three communities (Vratza, Bistretz, or Beli Izvor, Bulgaria). A control group comprised of 99 adults having non-BEN hospitalized parents was enrolled in the study during the same time. We conducted face-to-face interviews, ultrasound kidney measurements, and determined kidney function in two consecutive investigations (2003/04 and 2004/05). Metals and metalloids were measured in urine and blood samples. To assess the agreement between these consecutive measurements, we calculated intraclass correlation coefficients. Repeated measurement data were analyzed using mixed models. Results We found that cadmium and arsenic were associated with neither kidney size nor function. Lead had a significant but negligible effect on creatinine clearance. Selenium showed a weak but significant negative association with two of the four kidney parameters, namely creatinine clearance and β2-microglobulin. It was positively related to kidney length. These associations were not restricted to the offspring of BEN patients. Adding credence to these findings are reports showing comparable kidney effects in animals exposed to selenium. Conclusion The findings of this 2-year follow-up study indicate that metals and metalloids do not play a role in the etiology of Balkan Endemic Nephropathy. Against the assumption in the literature, selenium was not protective but a risk factor. Since comparable associations were observed in animals, future studies are needed to explore whether selenium may have adverse renal effects in humans.</p

Identification and characterization of antibacterial compound(s) of cockroaches (Periplaneta americana)

Infectious diseases remain a significant threat to human health, contributing to more than 17 million deaths, annually. With the worsening trends of drug resistance, there is a need for newer and more powerful antimicrobial agents. We hypothesized that animals living in polluted environments are potential source of antimicrobials. Under polluted milieus, organisms such as cockroaches encounter different types of microbes, including superbugs. Such creatures survive the onslaught of superbugs and are able to ward off disease by producing antimicrobial substances. Here, we characterized antibacterial properties in extracts of various body organs of cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) and showed potent antibacterial activity in crude brain extract against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and neuropathogenic E. coli K1. The size-exclusion spin columns revealed that the active compound(s) are less than 10 kDa in molecular mass. Using cytotoxicity assays, it was observed that pre-treatment of bacteria with lysates inhibited bacteria-mediated host cell cytotoxicity. Using spectra obtained with LC-MS on Agilent 1290 infinity liquid chromatograph, coupled with an Agilent 6460 triple quadruple mass spectrometer, tissues lysates were analyzed. Among hundreds of compounds, only a few homologous compounds were identified that contained isoquinoline group, chromene derivatives, thiazine groups, imidazoles, pyrrole containing analogs, sulfonamides, furanones, flavanones, and known to possess broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, and possess anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, and analgesic properties. Further identification, characterization and functional studies using individual compounds can act as a breakthrough in developing novel therapeutics against various pathogens including superbugs

Thermal environment and UV-B radiation indices in the Vojvodina region, Serbia

We considered thermal environment and UV-B radiation indices in the Vojvodina region, Serbia. We derived an empirical formula for estimating the daily sum of the UV-B from global radiation and used this formula to reconstruct the UV-B radiation pattern for 1981–2008. We describe the actual climate conditions for the period 1992−2008. In addition, we applied a statistical downscaling technique on ECHAM5 outputs under the A2 scenario to assess the 2040 climate. The results indicate that a warmer and drier climate in the Vojvodina region can be expected because of the following evidence: an increase in the mean annual temperature (8.6 to 12.3%) and in the frequency of hot days (29.4 to 50%); a decrease in the mean annual precipitation (8.1 to 14.2%) and in the frequency of cold days (11.8 to 27.8%); a higher increase in the mean temperature for the colder period (24.9%) than for the hotter one (6.7%); and a reduction in precipitation during the growing season (15.7%). We have analyzed the thermal environment for the period 1992 −2008 using the wind chill index and the heat index for the winter (December to February) and summer (June to August) periods. In all places, the heat index has a tendency for growth. We determined an increase in the daily UV-B dose in an amount of 3.7% per decade. Even though there is some evidence indicating ozone stabilization, there are no signs of a significant recovery of ozone layer thickness, so it can be expected that UV-B dose levels will remain high in the future

Sensitivity of soil surface temperature in a force-restore equation to heat fluxes and deep soil temperature

The ‘force-restore’ approach is commonly used in order to calculate the surface temperature in atmospheric models. A critical point in this method is how to calculate the deep soil temperature which appears in the restore term of the ‘force-restore’ equation. If the prognostic equation for calculating the deep soil temperature is used, some errors in surface temperature calculation and consequently in partitioning the surface energy and land surface water can be introduced. Usually, these errors should appear as a result of incorrect parameterization of surface energy terms in the prognostic equation based on ‘force-restore’ approach. In this paper, the sensitivity of the ‘force-restore’ model for surface temperature to the: (a) changes of soil heat flux; (b) variations of deep soil temperature and (c) changes in soil water evaporation is examined. In addition, the impact of the deep soil temperature variations on partitioning the surface energy and land surface water is discussed. Finally, a new procedure for calculating the deep soil temperature based, on climatological data of soil temperature and its exponential attenuation in the deep soil layers is suggested. All numerical experiments with the LAPS land surface scheme were performed using two data sets, obtained from the micrometeorological measurements over a bare soil at Rimski Sancevi (Yugoslavia), RS, and Caumont (France), HAPEX. Copyright (C) 1999 Royal Meteorological Society