Urinary aquaporin 2 and calciuria correlate with the severity of enuresis in children

This study examined che hypothesis that nocturnal enuresis might be paralleled by aquaporin 2 (AQP2) urinary excretion. Eighty children who experienced nocturnal enuresis were studied and compared with 9 healthy children. The 24-h urine samples were divided into two portions: night collections and day collections. Creatinine equivalents of urine samples from each patient were analyzed by Western blotting. AQP2 levels were semiquantified by densitometric scanning and reported as a ratio between the intensity of the signal in the day urine sample versus the night urine sample (D/N AQP2 ratio). The D/N AQP2 ratio was 0.59 +/- 0.11 (n = 9) in healthy children and increased to 1.27 +/- 0.24 (n = 10) in a subpopulation of enuretic children who had low nocturnal vasopressin levels. In enuretic children who displayed hypercalciuria and had normal vasopressin levels, the D/N AQP2 ratio was 1.05 +/- 0.27 (n = 8). These data indicate that reduced secretion of vasopressin and absorptive hypercalciuria are independently associated with an approximately twofold increase in the urinary D/N AQP2 ratio. When low nocturnal vasopressin levels were associated with hypercalciuria, a nearly threefold increase in the D\N AQP2 ratio was observed (1.67 +/- 0.41, n = 11). In addition, in all enuretic patients tested, the urinary D/N AQP2 ratio correlates perfectly with the severity of the disorder (nocturnal polyuria). The findings reported in this article indicate that urinary AQP2 correlates with the severity of enuresis in children

A cytologic assay for diagnosis of food hypersensitivity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: A percentage of patients with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) suffer from food hypersensitivity (FH) and improve on a food-elimination diet. No assays have satisfactory levels of sensitivity for identifying patients with FH. We evaluated the efficacy of an in vitro basophil activation assay in the diagnosis of FH in IBS-like patients. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 120 consecutive patients diagnosed with IBS according to Rome II criteria. We analyzed in vitro activation of basophils by food allergens (based on levels of CD63 expression), as well as total and food-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E levels in serum. Effects of elimination diets and double-blind food challenges were used as standards for FH diagnosis. RESULTS: Twenty-four of the patients (20%) had FH (cow's milk and/or wheat hypersensitivity); their symptom scores improved significantly when they were placed on an elimination diet. Patients with FH differed from other IBS patients in that they had a longer duration of clinical history, a history of FH as children, and an increased frequency of self-reported FH; they also had hypersensitivities to other antigens (eg, egg or soy). The basophil activation assay diagnosed FH with 86% sensitivity, 88% specificity, and 87% accuracy; this level of sensitivity was significantly higher than that of serum total IgE or food-specific IgE assays. CONCLUSIONS: A cytometric assay that quantifies basophils after stimulation with food antigens based on cell-surface expression of CD63 had high levels of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in diagnosing FH. This assay might be used to diagnose FH in patients with IBS-like symptoms