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Background Both the development of kidney function in healthy children and autoregulation ability of kidney function in patients with asymmetric kidneys are important in clinical diagnosis and treatment of kidney-related diseases, but there are however only limited studies. This study aimed to investigate development of kidney function in normal children with healthy symmetric kidneys and autoregulation of the healthy kidney compensating the functional loss of a diseased one in children with asymmetric kidneys. Methods Two hundred thirty-seven children (156 male, 81 female) from 0 to 20y (average 4.6y ± 5.1) undergoing .sup.99mTc-MAG3 renography were included, comprising 134 with healthy symmetrically functioning kidneys and 103 with asymmetric kidneys. Clearance was calculated from kidney uptakes at 1-2 min. A developmental model between MAG3 clearance (CL) and patient age in normal group was identified (CL = 84.39Age.sup.0.395 ml/min, r = 0.957, p < 0.001). The clearance autoregulation rate in abnormal group with asymmetric kidneys was defined as the ratio of the measured MAG3 clearance and the normal value predicted from the renal developmental model of normal group. Results No significant difference of MAG3 clearance (p = 0.723) was found between independent abnormal group and normal group. The autoregulation rate of kidney clearance in abnormal group was 94.2% on average, and no significant differences were found between two age groups (p = 0.49), male and female (p = 0.39), and left kidney and right kidney (p = 0.92) but two different grades of asymmetric kidneys (p = 0.02). Conclusions The healthy kidney of two asymmetric kidneys can automatically regulate total kidney function up to 94% of two symmetric kidneys in normal children. Graphical abstract, Author(s): Xinhua Cao [sup.1] , Xiaoyin Xu [sup.2] , S. Ted Treves [sup.2] , Laura A. Drubach [sup.1] , Neha Kwatra [sup.1] , Min Zhang [sup.2] , Frederic H. Fahey [...]

99mTc-labeled dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc-DMSA) imaging is a well-established and highly sensitive method for the diagnosis of several renal cortical disorders affecting children and adults. Beginning in 2014, 99mTc-DMSA availability was severely impaired when it was added to the Drug Shortages List of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and was commercially unavailable thereafter. The agent shortage negatively impacted practitioners' ability to evaluate renal cortical defects in children and adults and changed renal imaging practice. A survey among pediatric nuclear medicine clinicians confirmed the clinical need for 99mTc-DMSA. Finally, in early 2023 the Food and Drug Administration again approved 99mTc-DMSA in the United States. During the 99mTc-DMSA shortage, established practitioners may not have had the opportunity of using 99mTc-DMSA as they were accustomed in their experience. Also, newer imaging specialists and referring physicians and technologists may not have benefited from having 99mTc-DMSA in their training. Therefore, it is time to bring back 99mTc-DMSA into the armamentarium of imaging methods available to evaluate regional cortical renal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-carbon (1C) metabolism is a metabolic network that integrates nutritional signals with biosynthesis, redox homeostasis, and epigenetics. There are sex differences in hepatic 1C metabolism, however, it is unclear whether sex differences in 1C impact the brain. The aim of this study was to investigate if sex modulates the effects of dietary folic acid deficiency, the main component of 1C, in brain tissue using a mouse model. Male and female C57Bl/6J mice were placed on a folic acid deficient (FD) or control diet (CD) at six weeks until six months of aged. After which brain tissue and serum were collected for analysis. In brain tissue, hippocampal volume, morphology, and apoptosis as well as cortical acetylcholine metabolism were measured. Male and female FD mice had reduced serum levels of folate. Both males and females maintained on a FD showed a decrease in the thickness of the hippocampal CA1-CA3 region. Interestingly, there was a sex difference in the levels of active caspase-3 within the CA3 region of the hippocampus. In cortical tissue, there were increased levels of neuronal ChAT and reduced levels of AChE in FD females and male mice. The results indicated that FD impacts hippocampal morphology and cortical neuronal acetylcholine metabolism. The data from our study indicate that there was only one sex difference and that was in hippocampal apoptosis. Our study provides little evidence that sex modulates the effects of dietary folate deficiency on hippocampal morphology and cortical neuronal acetylcholine metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Both the development of kidney function in healthy children and autoregulation ability of kidney function in patients with asymmetric kidneys are important in clinical diagnosis and treatment of kidney-related diseases, but there are however only limited studies. This study aimed to investigate development of kidney function in normal children with healthy symmetric kidneys and autoregulation of the healthy kidney compensating the functional loss of a diseased one in children with asymmetric kidneys. Methods: Two hundred thirty-seven children (156 male, 81 female) from 0 to 20y (average 4.6y ± 5.1) undergoing 99mTc-MAG3 renography were included, comprising 134 with healthy symmetrically functioning kidneys and 103 with asymmetric kidneys. Clearance was calculated from kidney uptakes at 1–2 min. A developmental model between MAG3 clearance (CL) and patient age in normal group was identified (CL = 84.39Age0.395 ml/min, r = 0.957, p < 0.001). The clearance autoregulation rate in abnormal group with asymmetric kidneys was defined as the ratio of the measured MAG3 clearance and the normal value predicted from the renal developmental model of normal group. Results: No significant difference of MAG3 clearance (p = 0.723) was found between independent abnormal group and normal group. The autoregulation rate of kidney clearance in abnormal group was 94.2% on average, and no significant differences were found between two age groups (p = 0.49), male and female (p = 0.39), and left kidney and right kidney (p = 0.92) but two different grades of asymmetric kidneys (p = 0.02). Conclusions: The healthy kidney of two asymmetric kidneys can automatically regulate total kidney function up to 94% of two symmetric kidneys in normal children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

99m Tc-labeled dimercaptosuccinic acid ( 99m Tc-DMSA) imaging is a well-established and highly sensitive method for the diagnosis of several renal cortical disorders affecting children and adults. Beginning in 2014, 99m Tc-DMSA availability was severely impaired when it was added to the Drug Shortages List of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and was commercially unavailable thereafter. The agent shortage negatively impacted practitioners' ability to evaluate renal cortical defects in children and adults and changed renal imaging practice. A survey among pediatric nuclear medicine clinicians confirmed the clinical need for 99m Tc-DMSA. Finally, in early 2023 the Food and Drug Administration again approved 99m Tc-DMSA in the United States. During the 99m Tc-DMSA shortage, established practitioners may not have had the opportunity of using 99m Tc-DMSA as they were accustomed in their experience. Also, newer imaging specialists and referring physicians and technologists may not have benefited from having 99m Tc-DMSA in their training. Therefore, it is time to bring back 99m Tc-DMSA into the armamentarium of imaging methods available to evaluate regional cortical renal function., (© 2024 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)