Serum sclerostin is associated with recurrent kidney stone formation independent of hypercalciuria

Kidney stones are frequent in industrialized countries with a lifetime risk of 10 to 15%. A high percentage of individuals experience recurrence. Calcium-containing stones account for more than 80% of kidney stones. Diet, environmental factors, behavior, and genetic variants contribute to the development of kidney stones. Osteocytes excrete the 21 kDa glycoprotein sclerostin, which inhibits bone formation by osteoblasts. Animal data suggests that sclerostin might directly or indirectly regulate calcium excretion via the kidney. As hypercalciuria is one of the most relevant risk factors for kidney stones, sclerostin might possess pathogenic relevance in nephrolithiasis. We performed a prospective cross-sectional observational controlled study in 150 recurrent kidney stone formers (rKSF) to analyse the association of sclerostin with known stone risk factors and important modulators of calcium-phosphate metabolism. Serum sclerostin levels were determined at the first visit. As controls, we used 388 non-stone formers from a large Swiss epidemiological cohort. Sclerostin was mildly increased in rKSF in comparison to controls. This finding was more pronounced in women compared to men. Logistic regression indicated an association of serum sclerostin with rKSF status. In hypercalciuric individuals, sclerostin levels were not different from normocalciuric patients. In Spearman correlation analysis we found a positive correlation between sclerostin, age, and BMI and a negative correlation with eGFR. There was a weak correlation with iPTH and intact FGF 23. In contrast, serum sclerostin levels were not associated with 25-OH Vitamin D3, 1,25-dihydroxy-Vitamin D3, urinary calcium and phosphate or other urinary lithogenic risk factors. This is the first prospective controlled study investigating serum sclerostin in rKSF. Sclerostin levels were increased in rKSF independent of hypercalciuria and significantly associated with the status as rKSF. It appears that mechanisms other than hypercalciuria may be involved and thus further studies are required to elucidate underlying pathways

Profile and motivation for smoking cessation in surgical inpatients

Estudo transversal que objetivou identifi car o perfi l e a motivação para a cessação do tabagismo em pacientes cirúrgicos hospitalizados. A amostra foi aleatória, com 100 pacientes de um hospital universitário do Sul do Brasil. Os dados foram coletados entre fevereiro e maio de 2013 e analisados pela estatística descritiva. Os resultados evidenciaram que 58 (58%) eram homens, com idade de 54,5±13,8 anos, 79(79%) brancos, 38(38%) casados e 67 (67%) com ensino fundamental. O início do fumo ocorreu aos 17±6,6 anos, com consumo de 20(10-28,7) cigarros/dia e com 37,4±14,4 anos de fumo. Noventa e um (91%) pacientes desejavam parar de fumar, 57(57%) estavam na fase de preparação, 36(36%) apresentavam baixa dependência de nicotina e 35(35%) receberam incentivos para cessar o tabagismo. Conclui-se que a internação é um momento propício para abordagem do tabagismo, no entanto, a equipe de saúde ainda não intervém de maneira efi caz e sistematizada.Estudio transversal a identifi car el perfi l y la motivación para dejar de fumar en pacientes quirúrgicos. La muestra fue aleatoria con 100 pacientes de un hospital universitario en el sur de Brasil. Los datos fueron recolectados entre febrero y mayo de 2013 y analizados mediante estadística descriptiva. Los resultados mostraron que el 58(58%) eran hombres, con edades de 54,5±13,8 años, 79(79 %) blancos, 38(38%) casados y 67(67%) con educación primaria. El inicio del consumo de tabaco fue a los 17±6,6 años, 20(10 a 28,7) cigarrillos/día y 37,4±14,4 años fumadores. Noventa y un (91%) pacientes querían dejar de fumar, 57(57%) se encontraban en la fase de preparación, 36(36%) tenían baja dependencia de la nicotina y 35(35%) recibieron incentivos para dejar de fumar. Llegamos a la conclusión de que la hospitalización es un buen momento para la aproximación, sin embargo, el equipo de salud todavía no interviene con efi cacia y de manera sistemática.The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe the profi le of smokers hospitalized for surgery, and investigate their motivation to quit. The sample consisted of 100 patients recruited from a university hospital in southern Brazil. Data were collected between February and May 2013, and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The sample was predominantly male (n=58; 58%) and had a mean age of 54.5±13.8 years. Seventy-nine (79%) of the participants were white, 38(38%) were married and 67(67%) had primary education only. Patients started smoking at a mean age of 17±6.6 years, smoked approximately 20(10 to 28.7) cigarettes/day and had been smoking for a mean of 37.4±14.4 years. Ninety-one (91%) patients wanted to stop smoking, 57(57%) were in the preparation phase, 36(36%) had low nicotine dependence and 35(35%) had been encouraged to quit. We concluded that, although hospitalization is a good moment to address smoking cessation, health care professionals do not enact eff ective and systematic interventions in this regard

Microbiological characteristics of clinical isolates of Cryptococcus spp. in Bahia, Brazil: molecular types and antifungal susceptibilities

To determine the profiles of susceptibility to antifungal and the genotypes of clinical isolates of Cryptococcus in Bahia, Brazil, 62 isolates were collected from cases of meningitis in the period from 2006 to 2010. Their susceptibilities to fluconazole, itraconazole, amphotericin B and 5-flucytosine were determined by the broth microdilution technique described by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute and genotyping of the URA5 gene was accomplished by restriction fragment length polymorphism. C. neoformans accounted for 79% of the identified yeast and C. gattii represented the remaining 21%. Evaluation of the genotypes determined that 100% of the C. gattii isolates belong to the VGII genotype, and 98% of the C. neoformans isolates belong to the VNI genotype. Determination of susceptibility revealed isolates resistant to fluconazole (4.8%), 5-flucytosine (1.6%) and amphotericin B (3.2%); the stratification of sensitivity results for each species showed significant differences in susceptibility to azoles. This study is the first to describe the susceptibility profiles of molecular and clinical isolates of Cryptococcus in Bahia, Brazil. The high percentage of C. gattii isolates belonging to the VGII genotype and its lower susceptibility to antifungal agents highlight the importance of knowing which species are involved in cryptococcal infections in northeastern Brazil