Hepatitis B and C in Kidney Transplantation

The prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and C virus infection has declined among the dialysis population during the past decades. However, it still comprises a major health problem with high morbidity and mortality. Renal transplantation is the optimal treatment for patients with end‐stage renal disease and hepatitis B or C, although it is associated to lower patient and allograft survival compared to seronegative kidney recipients. Novel therapeutic strategies with the use of new antiviral agents, especially direct‐acting antiviral agents in hepatitis C, have significantly changed the natural history of both hepatitis B and C not only in the general population but also in renal‐transplant recipients. We believe that future research should focus on the impact of new antiviral medications in this specific subset of patients

Lupus Nephritis: Clinical Picture, Histopathological Diagnosis, and Management

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect almost every organ of the body and presents with a great variety of clinical features. SLE effect on kidneys, mostly referred to as lupus nephritis, is of special interest for the rheumatologist and nephrologist for three reasons. First, lupus nephritis is one of the commonest types of organ involvement in this disorder, affecting as up to 45% of all patients with SLE. Second, it presents with a great variety of clinical and histopathological findings, and thus, therapy must be tailored accordingly. Third, it greatly affects the morbidity and mortality of SLE patients. Taking these facts into account, this chapter is centered on lupus nephritis from the perspective of the clinical nephrologist and renal pathologist. This chapter elaborates the diversity of clinical features of lupus nephritis, in relation to the different histopathological forms of the disease and the therapeutic options that are available to date, as well as the pathogenesis, natural history, and prognosis of patients with lupus nephritis

Adaptive and non-adaptive traits in fir populations

<p>The relation between the performance in adaptive traits and the genetic differentiation and variability patterns was examined in fir populations from Greece. In particular, nine fir populations growing in a provenance-test plantation located in central Greece, within the distribution range of the species, were used. The places of origin of the populations cover the range of the fir species distribution in Greece. Four of them represent places where the distribution is continuous and the other five occur in sites of an island-type distribution. The growth and survival rates were measured, and compared to the results taken by analyzing isoenzyme markers, as well as previously published results of morphological traits and terpene markers. Similar patterns of genetic differentiation were obtained by the analysis of isoenzyme markers, terpenes and morphological traits. The results indicated that the genetic differentiation observed is in concordance with the geographical distribution of the studied populations. Genetic diversity in isoenzyme markers as well as growth and survival rates were lower in isolated populations originating from marginal areas. Implications for conservation and breeding are discussed.</p