Search

A 41-year-old woman diagnosed with seronegative myasthenia gravis struggled to maintain remission for a decade, facing crises every 3 months for several years. After repeated apheresis using a non-tunneled non-cuffed central venous dialysis catheter (NTNCC), complications such as catheter-related thrombus in the internal jugular veins and morbid obesity from steroids made the insertion of NTNCC increasingly difficult, leading to consideration of an alternative permanent vascular access (VA) approach. Thus, we created a subcutaneously superficialized brachial artery as the VA, which allowed the patient to undergo safe and uninterrupted apheresis therapy.

Background: Dialysis central venous catheters (DCs) are used for various blood purification therapies. Accidental removal of a DC is a potentially life-threatening event. However, the risk factors associated with accidental removal have rarely been discussed in the literature., Methods: We performed a 5 year retrospective, single-center, cohort study of patients who were admitted to the ward other than intensive care units and were inserted DCs. We compared patient characteristics between patients who used DCs with and without a history of accidental removal., Results: There were 17 cases of accidental removal (3.5%) out of 489 DC insertions during the observation period. There was no significant difference between patients with and without accidental removal in terms of age, sex, reason for DC insertion, catheter type, or insertion site. The presence of dementia was 35 and 11% (p = 0.006), and that of delirium was 88 and 13% (p < 0.0001) in those with and without accidental removal, respectively. The median days from insertion to accidental removal were 5 (range 0-21) days, and removal occurred mainly at night (71%). One patient with accidental removal developed hemorrhagic shock, but there no deaths occurred due to accidental removal., Conclusions: The present findings suggest that to prevent accidental removal, sufficient attention should be paid to delirium that occurs after admission as well to pre-existing dementia at the time of admission. As accidental removal occurs most commonly early after insertion and at night, special attention should be paid during these periods., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japanese Society of Nephrology.)

We herein report a 70-year-old man with malaise and muscle weakness that had developed within a month. The patient also had abdominal fullness due to polycystic kidney disease. Severe proximal skeletal muscle weakness and mild elevation of creatinine kinase to 301 IU/L were noted. A muscle biopsy of the right bicep showed polymyositis. Computed tomography showed a right renal mass, and an analysis after right nephrectomy identified clear cell carcinoma. The muscle weakness subsided one month after nephrectomy and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Therefore, we suspect that the development of polymyositis in this patient was closely related to renal cell carcinoma.

In the original publication, some errors have been found in the alignment of Table 9. The corrected table is given below.

Background: Practice patterns and bleeding complications of percutaneous native kidney biopsy (PNKB) have not recently been investigated and the Japanese Society of Nephrology performed a nationwide questionnaire survey in 2018., Methods: The survey consisted of nine sections about PNKB: (1) general indications; (2) indications for high-risk patients; (3) informed consent; (4) pre-biopsy evaluation; (5) procedures; (6) sedation; (7) post-biopsy hemostasis, bed rest, and examinations; (8) bleeding complications; and (9) specimen processing. A supplementary survey examined bleeding requiring transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE)., Results: Overall, 220 directors of facilities (nephrology facility [NF], 168; pediatric nephrology facility [PF], 52) completed the survey. Indications, procedures, and monitoring protocols varied across facilities. Median lengths of hospital stay were 5 days in NFs and 6 days in PFs. Gauge 14, 16, 18 needles were used in 5%, 56%, 33% in NFs and 0%, 63%, 64% in PFs. Mean limits of needle passes were 5 in NFs and 4 in PFs. The bed rest period was 16-24 h in 60% of NFs and 65% of PFs. Based on 17,342 PNKBs, incidence rates of macroscopic hematuria, erythrocyte transfusion, and TAE were 3.1% (NF, 2.8%; PF, 6.2%), 0.7% (NF, 0.8%; PF, 0%), and 0.2% (NF, 0.2%; PF, 0.06%), respectively. Forty-six percent of facilities processed specimens all for light microscopy, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy, and 21% processed for light microscopy only. Timing of bleeding requiring TAE varied among PNKB cases., Conclusion: Wide variations in practice patterns of PNKB existed among facilities, while PNKBs were performed as safely as previously reported.

Background: Unintentional renal artery occlusion after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for abdominal aortic aneurysm remains one of the most unfavorable complications. Renal salvage options include percutaneous transluminal renal artery angioplasty (PTRA) and open hepatosplenorenal bypass. However, the usefulness of kidney autotransplantation (AutoTx) remains unclear., Case Presentation: A 76-year-old woman with a right solitary kidney attributable to a left renal thromboembolism had previously undergone EVAR with a stent graft for an infrarenal aortic aneurysm, which led to ostial occlusion of the right renal artery. In addition, she had undergone PTRA and stenting. Two days before admission, she developed leg edema and hypertension, leading her to visit the hospital. Her serum creatinine level was 2.4 (baseline, 1.0) mg/dL. Acute kidney injury due to renal artery in-stent restenosis was suspected; re-angioplasty was attempted on day 2 of hospitalization, but was unsuccessful. Her renal function did not improve and anuria persisted; thus, hemodialysis was initiated on the same day. The right kidney size (8.6 cm) was preserved relative to her body size, with only mild cortical atrophy. Doppler ultrasonography and mercaptoacetyltriglycine scintigraphy revealed minimal but significant perfusion of the right kidney. Therefore, we considered that kidney perfusion was sustained and renal function could be reversed. On day 25 of hospitalization, right kidney AutoTx to the right iliac fossa was performed to reestablish adequate renal perfusion and reverse the need for dialysis. Soon after the procedure, the patient started passing urine. Her renal function improved; her serum creatinine level decreased to 1.0 mg/dL on day 33 of hospitalization. Hemodialysis was discontinued after the surgery. Zero-hour kidney biopsy showed only mild tubular injury, with neither tubular necrosis nor glomerular abnormalities., Conclusions: Kidney AutoTx can be performed for patients with renal artery in-stent occlusion after unsuccessful PTRA who previously underwent EVAR. Our case showed successful recovery of renal function nearly 1 month after renal artery occlusion, indicating that revascularization should be considered even if it is delayed, as the kidney might be perfused through collateral circulation.

A 29-year-old woman with past medical history of hypertension was referred to our hospital for the evaluation of kidney dysfunction (serum creatinine 1.0 mg/dL), proteinuria (0.54 g/gCre), and microscopic hematuria. Renal biopsy before the first pregnancy was supportive for benign nephrosclerosis with no evidence of vasculitis. After her second pregnancy and delivery when she was 32 years old, she developed proteinuria of 3.2 g/gCre, hematuria, and elevated serum creatinine level of 2.6 mg/dL. Second renal biopsy revealed necrotizing glomerulonephritis and her serum MPO-ANCA was positive, leading to the diagnosis of MPA/renal-limited vasculitis (RLV). Interestingly, frozen preserved serum from 4 years earlier also tested positive for MPO-ANCA. Despite intensive treatment, hemodialysis was required 10 years later due to progressive deterioration of renal function. At that time, she developed pericarditis, bloody cardiac tamponade, and pulmonary alveolar hemorrhage, resulting in a diagnosis of systemic vasculitis MPA. She received living donor kidney transplantation at the age of 44 years, after which serum creatinine has been stable around 1.1 mg/dL without proteinuria or hematuria and MPO-ANCA has remained negative. The association of vasculitis with pregnancy and delivery is not well documented, especially in patients with MPA. Here, we report this MPO-ANCA positive woman developing MPA necrotizing glomerulonephritis after her second pregnancy and a 20-year clinical course.

Although primary central nervous system post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PCNS-PTLD) causes various symptoms depending on the tumor region, there has been no previous report of PCNS-PTLD in the cerebellopontine angle that was diagnosed due to peripheral facial nerve palsy. We herein report a case involving a 62-year-old man with PCNS-PTLD in the cerebellopontine angle who was diagnosed due to peripheral facial nerve palsy. The reduction of immunosuppressive therapy, whole-brain radiotherapy, intrathecal chemotherapy, and rituximab were effective in treating this patient. Physicians should therefore be mindful that PCNS-PTLD can cause peripheral facial nerve palsy in renal transplant recipients.

A 14-year-old Japanese girl was admitted to our institution for the evaluation of renal dysfunction. Her serum creatinine was 1.1 mg/dL, proteinuria was 1.5 g/day, the urine sediment contained numerous erythrocytes per high-power field, and she was positive for myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA). Proteinuria was first noted at the age of 12 years. Renal biopsy showed crescentic glomerulonephritis with slight immunoglobulin A (IgA) deposition. A diagnosis of ANCA-associated vasculitis was made. Immunosuppressive therapy was initiated, including steroid pulse therapy and intravenous cyclophosphamide pulse therapy, but hemodialysis was required after 6 years. Eight months after the patient became anuric and her MPO-ANCA titer became negative, living-related donor kidney transplantation was done from her mother. ANCA became slightly positive 2 years later, but the patient remains stable without proteinuria or hematuria at 4 years after surgery. This case suggests that kidney transplantation can be performed successfully for a patient with refractory childhood-onset ANCA-associated vasculitis, and that remission of vasculitis associated with ANCA negativity at transplantation may contribute to a better renal prognosis in this patient.

We evaluated the influence of kidney volume (KV) and liver volume (LV) on continuation of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Twenty-two PKD patients on PD were retrospectively investigated after being divided into two groups. Group 1 comprised 15 patients who started PD at our hospital and group 2 was composed of seven patients referred from other hospitals for treatment of renomegaly by transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) at 47.1 ± 21.8 months after commencing PD. In group 1, KV for both kidneys (mean ± SD) was 2787 ± 1945 mL (range: 1043 to 6816 mL), LV was 2198 ± 1139 mL (1005 to 4116 mL), and the total organ volume (TV=KV+LV) was 4985 ± 1815 mL (2320 to 8912 mL). In the patient with the largest TV from group 1 (KV of 6816 mL, TV of 8912 mL, and TV/BMI ratio of 426, PD was stopped due to dialysate leakage. However, dialysate leakage did not occur in the other 14 patients (TV ≦ 7963 mL and TV/BMI ratio of 353 at the start of PD). In group 2, KV was 5822 ± 1597 mL (3832 to 8862 mL), LV was 1776 ± 519 mL (1271 to 2671 mL), and TV was 7597 ± 1431 mL (5505 to 10358) before TAE. Leakage of dialysate did not occur with a mean infusion volume of 1530 ± 370 mL (1000 mL to 2000 mL), even after renomegaly and hepatomegaly progressed to the maximum TV/BMI ratio of 359. Six patients from the two groups developed new abdominal hernias at 36 ± 5 months (6-55 months) after starting PD. These findings suggest that performance of PD may be limited by renomegaly and hepatomegaly in patients with PKD., (© 2015 The Authors. Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis © 2015 International Society for Apheresis.)

We designed a new method of measuring the length of the ulnar nerve and determining standard values for F-wave parameters of the ulnar nerve in clinically normal beagles. Nerve length must be precisely measured to determine F-wave latency and conduction velocity. The length of the forelimb has served as the length of the ulnar nerve for F-wave assessments, but report indicates that F-wave latency is proportional to the length of the pathway traveled by nerve impulses. Therefore, we measured the surface distance from a stimulus point to the spinous process of the first thoracic vertebra (nerve length 1) and the anterior horn of the scapula (nerve length 2) as landmarks through the olecranon and the shoulder blade acromion. The correlation coefficients between the shortest F-wave latency and the length of nerves 1, 2 or the forelimb were 0.61, 0.7 and 0.58. Nerve length 2 generated the highest value. Furthermore, the anterior horn of the scapula was easily palpated in any dog regardless of well-fed body. We concluded that nerve length 2 was optimal for measuring the length of the ulnar nerve.

Deceased donor kidney transplantation in long-term dialysis patients in Japan has been increasing because of a severe lack of donors. Parathyroid glands of long-term dialysis patients often show qualitative morphological changes from diffuse to nodular hyperplasia. Only a few studies have reported the clinicopathological analysis of persistent hyperparathyroidism after kidney transplantation in long-term (>10 years) dialysis patients. This study on consecutive deceased donor kidney transplantation performed from 2002 to 2010 measured biochemical parameters related to bone and mineral disorders and examined parathyroid tissues in parathyroidectomy cases. Thirty-four subjects (22 males; mean age, 53.8 ± 7.9 years; mean dialysis period, 14.4 ± 4.3 years) were enrolled. Multivariate analysis of potential predictors for the hypercalcemia group at 12 months after transplantation showed that pre-transplantation and early post-transplantation calcium and parathyroid hormone levels were significant determinants. Pathological examination showed that a number of glands showed nodular hyperplasia, even in small glands weighing < 100 mg. In long-term dialysis patients, hyperparathyroidism and hypercalcemia developed at an early stage after transplantation and persisted for a long period (>4 years), with nodular hyperplasia being found even in low-weight parathyroid glands. Pre-transplant high calcium and parathyroid hormone levels were the predictors for the prolonged hypercalcemia. Persistent hyperparathyroidism was considered to be caused by remaining nodular hyperplasia, even if the glands were small. Although the best treatment option is to perform a parathyroidectomy in the waiting period before transplantation, we suggest that it be performed in cases with prolonged hypercalcemia of >6 months after transplantation., (© 2013 The Authors. Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis © 2013 International Society for Apheresis.)

Proliferative glomerulonephritis with monoclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) deposits (PGNMID) is a recently described disease entity. In the kidney transplantation literature, only 6 recurrent and 2 de novo PGNMID cases, including 7 of the IgG3 subclass (6 with κ light chain and 1 with λ light chain) and 1 of the IgG1 subclass (λ light chain), have been described to date. We describe a 52-year-old man with end-stage renal disease whose primary glomerular disease had been suggested to be membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. The patient underwent living related donor kidney transplantation and presented with proteinuria, hematuria, and decreased kidney function at 4 months posttransplantation. Biopsy of the transplanted kidney showed diffuse endocapillary proliferative glomerulonephritis. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed prominent granular glomerular staining for IgG, C3, and λ light chain, with IgM, IgA, and κ light chain undetectable. Immunofluorescence staining for IgG subclass showed signal for IgG2 only. Retrospective analysis of the native kidney biopsy specimen also showed the same monoclonal glomerular staining for the IgG2λ subtype. These findings led us to the diagnosis of PGNMID of the IgG2λ subtype as both the primary glomerular disease and recurrent disease in the transplanted kidney. Recurrence was treated with high-dose prednisolone, which decreased proteinuria, hematuria, and serum creatinine level. The case demonstrates that PGNMID of the IgG2λ subtype also can recur in the transplanted kidney., (Copyright © 2013 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Whether bone mineral density (BMD) is improved at 5 years after parathyroidectomy (PTx) for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) remains unknown., Objective: To investigate BMD after PTx by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)., Methods: BMD was measured at the distal 1/3 of the radius (non-shunt side) and at the lumbar supine (L2-L4, lateral view) before and 5 years after PTx in 35 hemodialysis patients who had undergone surgery from April 1994 to May 2004. The data were analyzed retrospectively., Results: Intact PTH decreased significantly from 1,100 ± 530 (range: 446 - 2,300) pg/ ml before PTx to 75 ± 68 (2 - 251) pg/ml at 5 years after PTx (p < 0.01). Before PTx, the radial BMD and lumbar BMD were both decreased -3.3 ± 1.9 SD and -1.3 ± 2.4 SD compared with the corresponding normal mean T-score, respectively. Radial BMD increased significantly from 0.522 ± 0.113 g/cm2 before PTx to 0.545 ± 0.114 g/cm2 (p = 0.01) at 5 years after PTx, while the T-score improved to -2.8 ± 2.0 SD. In contrast, lumbar BMD showed no significant change between before (0.734 ± 0.202 g/cm2) and 5 years after PTx (0.746 ± 0.199 g/cm2), and neither did the T-score (-1.1 ± 2.3 SD). None of the patients suffered any fractures during follow up., Conclusion: These findings indicate that maintaining iPTH at < 300 pg/ml for 5 years after PTx results in an increase of radial BMD in SHPT patients with preoperative BMD levels in the osteoporosis range (below -2.5 SD) according to the WHO, as well as stabilizing lumbar BMD.

Background: Cinacalcet hydrochloride (cinacalcet), a calcimimetic, has been shown to upregulate calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) expression in parathyroid glands of rats with chronic renal insufficiency. However, the effect of cinacalcet on the reduced CaSR expression in human parathyroid glands remains to be elucidated., Methods: Four normal parathyroid glands and 71 hyperplastic parathyroid glands from 18 hemodialysis patients with refractory secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) treated with (n = 10; cinacalcet group) or without (n = 8; conventional group) cinacalcet were examined immunohistochemically with a specific antibody against CaSR. The expression level of CaSR was analyzed semiquantitatively., Results: Compared with normal glands, the immunohistochemical expression of CaSR was decreased significantly in both the cinacalcet and conventional groups. In the cinacalcet group, the expression of CaSR was increased significantly compared with that in the conventional group (1.83 ± 0.14 vs. 0.87 ± 0.15, p < 0.001), even though the proportion of patients using vitamin D sterols and the mean administered dose of calcitriol equivalents were not significantly different between the two groups. The expression of CaSR was significantly decreased in the larger glands (>500 mg) compared with that in the smaller glands (<500 mg) in both groups; furthermore, it was markedly decreased in areas of nodular hyperplasia compared with diffuse hyperplasia in the cinacalcet group., Conclusions: Our results indicate that cinacalcet upregulates the depressed expression of CaSR in hemodialysis patients with SHPT, and that insufficient expression of CaSR, especially in larger glands with advanced nodular hyperplasia, underlies the pathogenesis of SHPT in patients who are resistant to cinacalcet., (Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

We evaluated the potential of poly(N-vinylacetamide-co-acrylic acid) modified with d-octaarginine, which is a typical cell-penetrating peptide, as a carrier for mucosal vaccine delivery. Mice were nasally inoculated four times every seventh day with PBS containing ovalbumin with or without the d-octaarginine-linked polymer. The polymer enhanced the production of ovalbumin-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and secreted immunoglobulin A (IgA) in the serum and the nasal cavity, respectively. Ovalbumin internalized into nasal epithelial cells appeared to stimulate IgA production. Ovalbumin transferred to systemic circulation possibly enhanced IgG production. An equivalent dose of the cholera toxin B subunit (CTB), which was used as a positive control, was superior to the polymer in enhancing antibody production; however, dose escalation of the polymer overcame this disadvantage. A similar immunization profile was also observed when ovalbumin was replaced with influenza virus HA vaccines. The polymer induced a vaccine-specific immune response identical to that induced by CTB, irrespective of the antibody type, when its dose was 10 times that of CTB. Our cell-penetrating peptide-linked polymer is a potential candidate for antigen carriers that induce humoral immunity on the mucosal surface and in systemic circulation when nasally coadministered with antigens.

We herein report an unusual case of spontaneous parathyroid gland rupture. A man was admitted with respiratory distress in September 2010. He had been receiving hemodialysis since 1995. He was diagnosed secondary hyperparathyroidism in 2006 and began receiving cinacalcet therapy in 2009. His intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) level decreased, and massive traumatic bleeding occurred, following which rupture of the parathyroid gland was detected during surgery. The ruptured gland showed nodular hyperplasia. Previous reports have indicated that parathyroid bleeding is associated with glandular hypertrophy. This is the first report of parathyroid apoplexy occurring after suppression of elevated parathyroid function caused by cinacalcet therapy.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has the best prognosis among acute leukemias, but there is little data about APL in patients on hemodialysis. A 64-year-old hemodialysis patient was successfully treated for APL by induction therapy with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), three courses of consolidation therapy with Ara-C, mitomycin C (MIT), daunorubicin (DNR), and idarubicin (IDR), and maintenance therapy with ATRA. Complete remission has been maintained for 42 months in this patient. With dose modification, ATRA and chemotherapy may be safely given to patients on hemodialysis.

In January 2009, a 70-year-old Japanese woman on long-term dialysis was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of a painful left leg. Maintenance dialysis was started in 1982, and parathyroidectomy was performed for secondary hyperparathyroidism in 2004. Most of her small intestine was resected because of superior mesenteric artery thrombosis in 2006, and the remaining small bowel only extended 50 cm distal to the ligament of Treitz. Parenteral nutrition was started after bowel resection. Fracture of her left leg occurred suddenly without any precipitating factors in January 2009, and iliac bone biopsy revealed severe osteomalacia with an increase of total osteoid volume (57.6%) (>15%) and no fibrous tissue (0%) (<0.5%). Although phosphorus and active vitamin D were administered intravenously to correct her hypophosphatemia and vitamin D deficiency, significant improvement was not achieved. This case indicates that when a patient on long-term dialysis with parathyroidectomy also suffers from short bowel syndrome, osteomalacia may become very severe. Lack of healing of the fracture, persistence of pain, and subsequent fracture even after vigorous treatment for low serum phosphate and calcitriol levels implied that these medications were not necessarily sufficient for this patient.

A 40-year-old Japanese man was admitted to our hospital for investigation of fever and right flank pain starting after watery diarrhea. Salmonella enteritidis was cultured from samples of stool and blood. Although his diarrhea subsided soon, high fever persisted and flank pain got worse. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed four areas of abnormal intensity in renal cysts and computed tomography showed the same findings. Renal cysts infection was diagnosed. After ultrasound-guided aspiration of these cysts, his fever subsided. Culture of each aspirate grew Salmonella enteritidis. Although the route of cyst infection in ADPKD generally remains unclear, the clinical course of our patient may indicate that gastrointestinal tract infection progressed to renal cyst infection when bacteremia occurred due to bacterial translocation.

Idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (IBGC) is a syndrome in which bilateral cerebral calcification occurs despite the absence of abnormal calcium metabolism. A 17-year-old Japanese female was admitted for investigation of intermittent proteinuria from the age of 12 years. On admission, her blood pressure was 126/60 mmHg and her serum creatinine was 0.8 mg/dL. Although computed tomography revealed bilateral striopallidodentate calcinosis, her level of intelligence and neurological findings were normal, as were the results of endocrine tests including parathyroid hormone. Asymptomatic IBGC was diagnosed. Renal biopsy showed membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Peritoneal dialysis was started for end-stage renal failure when she was 24 years old. Pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs started to develop at the age of 27 years and progressed, resulting in death from aspiration pneumonia at the age of 32 years. Post-mortem revealed bilateral calcification of the basal ganglia, dentate nucleus, thalamus, and centrum semiovale. On light microscopy, there was circumferential calcification of the media and intima of affected vessels in the brain, including small arteries, small veins, and capillaries, and luminal narrowing was seen. On electron microscopy, layers of differing electron density were arranged in concentric laminae. This is the first report of IBGC with bilateral and symmetrical cerebral calcification accompanied by membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis resulting in end-stage renal failure.

Background: Patients who have been on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for over 10 years are known to have a risk of developing encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS). However, the prognosis of patients on CAPD for over 10 years remains unclear., Methods: To better understand the efficacy of a variety of treatments for EPS, we retrospectively reviewed 25 patients who started CAPD at Toranomon Hospital from 1981 to 1997 and continued it for longer than 10 years., Results: The CAPD catheter was removed without peritoneal lavage in the initial 3 patients and they developed massive ascites. They all died of infection without resolution of the ascites. Accordingly, in the remaining 13 patients who did not undergo kidney transplantation, peritoneal lavage therapy was performed for 12 months before removing the CAPD catheter. As a result, 4 patients did not develop EPS. However, 9 patients had EPS with ascites, among whom 4 died of EPS-related diseases and 5 are alive. Five patients underwent cadaveric donor kidney transplantation. At the time of surgery, the CAPD catheter was removed without peritoneal lavage; 1 patient suffered from massive ascites immediately, although this subsided within 3 months after kidney transplantation, and 4 patients remain free from EPS-related symptoms and are doing well., Conclusion: Kidney transplantation may be an option for preventing EPS. This study showed that improvement of the uremic state as well as treatment with immunosuppressants including corticosteroids may contribute to preventing EPS.

Macroporous cyclodextrin materials (MP-alpha-, beta-, and gamma-CDs) were easily fabricated by the freeze-drying of aqueous solutions of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-CDs. These MP-CDs showed the absorption ability toward various organic solvents and oils to give organogels at ambient temperature. The morphological changes of the MP-CD microstructures were observed through the absorption of organic solvents. In particular, the absorption of polar organic solvents with hydrogen-bond forming ability, including 1,4-dioxane and ethanol, by the MP-CDs caused remarkable morphological changes in the microstructures. The absorption of these polar solvents by MP-alpha- and gamma-CDs resulted in the formation of channel-type assemblies of alpha- and gamma-CDs, respectively.

A 56-year-old Japanese man was admitted to our hospital with abdominal fullness in June 2006. He had been diagnosed as having a horseshoe kidney by computed tomography in January 2002. At that time, renal dysfunction (serum creatine: 2.0 mg/dl) was detected. Even after hemodialysis was started for end-stage renal failure in March 2006, his abdominal fullness became progressively worse. CT scanning showed a markedly enlarged horseshoe kidney. Transarterial embolization (TAE) was performed via the right renal arteries with 14 platinum microcoils; the left renal arteries were not embolized in order to preserve sufficient parenchyma and a urine volume of more than 1,000 ml daily. Two years after TAE, a decrease in the size of the left kidney was noted along with the right kidney. However, urine output was still more than 1,000 ml daily. It is possible that one kidney compressed the contralateral kidney, resulting in enlargement of both components of the horseshoe kidney and renal dysfunction. TAE may be a useful option for obstructive uropathy in patients with horseshoe kidney, which has conventionally been treated surgically.