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The field of transplant medicine has evolved significantly since the first kidney transplant was performed in 1954. Innovations in transplant immunosuppression have lowered the risk of organ rejection so that infectious complications are now the leading cause of hospitalization and mortality after solid organ transplant. Infection is also cited as the leading cause of non-relapse mortality after stem cell transplantation. As transplant centers have recognized the importance of transplant specific expertise in patient outcomes, the field of transplant infectious diseases has expanded into a recognized and highly valued subspecialty. International growth in solid organ and stem cell transplantation has outpaced access to such expertise, with some centers employing microbiology laboratory directors and transplant nephrologists as their lead infectious diseases consultants. This has been a particular challenge as the use of novel immunosuppressive regimens in new geographic and immigrant populations have fueled the emergence of new infection syndromes, with the initial presentation sometimes occurring in this most vulnerable patient population. This digital-first book is designed to meet the needs of practitioners engaged in transplant infectious disease practice who need more depth than they are able to find in UpToDate. It provides an overview of emerging infectious disease challenges with clinically relevant information regarding the epidemiology, diagnosis, management, and prevention of infections in solid organ and stem cell transplant recipients. Each chapter focuses on a clinical syndrome or pathogen with new or emerging implications for transplant patients. Given the rapidly evolving nature of emerging infections and topics in transplant infections, no resource has been published on these increasingly notorious issues; this this text is written by top, global experts who regularly update the material to ensure that readers will always have access to the most cutting edge material available. The editorial team consists of three experienced leaders in the field, all of whom have a strong record of scholarship and publication, as well as an international reputation. All three have focused their academic careers on emerging infectious diseases in transplantation, including a current and a past president of various infectious diseases and transplantation societies. The editors are also experienced reviewers and authors who have collaborated on multiple previous projects. All are committed to this project as a unique opportunity to make an important contribution to their field.

This comprehensive volume provides a platform from which both major and minor infectious diseases related issues are addressed in-depth among this highly susceptible population. The book begins with an overview of infections in various modalities. This is followed by chapters on clinical disorders, etiologic agents, therapeutics, and infection prevention. Chapters include easy-to-follow figures and tables, radiologic images, and pictorial demonstrations of various disease states to familiarize and reacquaint the transplant clinicians and surgeons in practice and training, and those belonging to subspecialties providing supportive care for these patients. Discussions to enumerate the noninfectious causes that mimic infectious diseases; clinical relevance and effective utility of existing and emerging diagnostic tools are presented throughout the book. Authored by leaders in their fields, this book is the go-to reference for management of patients undergoing hematopoietic and solid organ transplantation.

This book, which is entitled as Renal Failure: Diagnosis, Management and Potential Complications, introduces the advanced topics regarding renal failure including manifold findings of physiologic, pathophysiologic and clinical aspects in the kidney. The kidney plays a crucial physiologic role in the regulation of urinary formation, fluid balance, nutrition metabolism, blood pressure and other aspects in the living body. Renal failure is a condition of a decline or loss of kidney function due to deficiency of functioning nephrons. Acute renal failure is a syndrome, which is characterized by acute decline or loss of kidney function due to temporary disfunctioning or blocking of nephrons. Acute renal failure is a reversible condition and is a secondary manifestation, a complication of another underlying critical illness. Chronic renal failure is a condition of slow, gradual decline of kidney function due to irreversible destruction of nephrons. This book provides recent information concerning acute and chronic renal failure in clinical aspects, and is constituted in five chapters.

As the number of patients undergoing hematotopoietic or solid organ transplantation increases, a deep understanding of the field of transplant infectious diseases grows increasingly vital. With its extensively revised and updated review of surgical infections, treatment, prevention, and practice, this book is the ultimate guide to advances in the field of transplant infections that are rapidly implemented into practice both in diagnostic technologies, new therapies, new transplant practices, and challenges such as the threat of multiresistant bacteria and the increasing use of transplantation in the developing parts of the world. Written by experts in their fields, this book is the only comprehensive source of cutting-edge information on transplant infections and has been a trusted guide to medical professionals worldwide for nearly two decades.Transplant Infections is of paramount value to infectious disease specialists, transplant physicians, medical students, fellows, residents, and all medical professionals working with surgical patients.

Twenty years after its discovery, recombinant human leptin has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with lipodystrophy. Beginning with a synthesis of the vast body of work on its discovery, dissection of mechanisms, and effects in experimental models, the focus of this book shifts to a consideration of the regulation and role of leptin in humans. The emphasis on human-level data is a unique feature of this book. The results of numerous studies indicate that leptin is indeed a regulated human hormone.Leptin provides a detailed account of the myriad physiological, hormonal, metabolic, immunological, mitogenic and inflammatory modulators and targets of leptin in a single volume. Next follows a comprehensive presentation of the therapeutic trials of recombinant leptin in patients with congenital leptin deficiency, lipodystrophy, hypothalamic amenorrhea, and other emerging areas, including leptin supplementation in leptin-replete subjects, leptin substitution for insulin in diabetic models, and novel combination regimens of leptin and other biogenic peptides. Unanswered questions and future directions in leptin research are highlighted in the Foreword by Dr. Jeffrey Friedman and throughout the volume. Identifying such questions helps direct research that could deepen understanding of the complex regulation of leptin under physiological and pathological conditions, a critical prerequisite to its rational deployment in the treatment of human disorders.

Hypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure, is a disease afflicting almost 1 billion people worldwide. Some 70 million adults in the United States are affected by hypertension. The condition also affects about two million teens and children. It is called the'silent killer'due to the deleterious damaging effects, such as stroke, myocardial infarction, renal dysfunction, visual problems, among others, derived from hypertension. It is noteworthy that one-third of patients in this condition are not even aware they are hypertensive, as this disease is usually asymptomatic for many years, even decades, until it finally damages certain critical organs and the only reliable way to detect its occurrence is to regularly check blood pressure. Therefore, considerable effort has been devoted to ascertain the causes of hypertension, as well as the mechanisms damaging the organ function. Nevertheless, about 95% of cases have unknown causes and represent the primary or essential hypertension. This book presents an update of research advances contributing to a better understanding of relevant clinical models of hypertension, particularly; the involvement of the role of oxidative stress in various forms of hypertension as a still emerging subject. This paradigm could be applied to account for blood pressure elevation in the metabolic syndrome, renovascular disease, preeclampsia and chronic kidney disease, among others. These examples are discussed in the light of recent clinical and experimental studies providing a rational base for diagnosis and treatment of the diseases. Each chapter includes a synthesis of the mechanistic approach supported by the accumulated evidence to facilitate its comprehension.