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Male sex is a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC) with higher illness burden and earlier onset. Thus, we hypothesized that loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in the tumor micro-environment (TME) might be involved in oncogenesis. Previous studies show that LOY in circulating leukocytes of aging men was associated with shorter survival and non-hematological cancer, as well as higher LOY in CD4 + T-lymphocytes in men with prostate cancer vs. controls. However, nothing is known about LOY in leukocytes infiltrating TME and we address this aspect here. We studied frequency and functional effects of LOY in blood, TME and non-tumorous tissue. Regulatory T-lymphocytes (Tregs) in TME had the highest frequency of LOY (22%) in comparison to CD4 + T-lymphocytes and cytotoxic CD8 + T-lymphocytes. LOY score using scRNA-seq was also linked to higher expression of PDCD1, TIGIT and IKZF2 in Tregs. PDCD1 and TIGIT encode immune checkpoint receptors involved in the regulation of Tregs function. Our study sets the direction for further functional research regarding a probable role of LOY in intensifying features related to the suppressive phenotype of Tregs in TME and consequently a possible influence on immunotherapy response in CRC patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a key role in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC), but the influence of triiodothyronine (T3) on the biological regulation of CSCs remains unclear. In the present study, it was reported that T3 exerts significant impact on CSCs of two CRC cell lines cultured in the form of colonospheres. It was observed that the incubation of colonospheres with T3 decreased the viability, proliferative and spherogenic potential of cancer cells (P<0.05). In addition, increased apoptotic rate of CRC cells treated with T3 was revealed. Furthermore, T3‑treated colonospheres were more likely to move into silenced pool in G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. The smaller sizes of colonospheres observed after the treatment with T3 confirmed this conclusion. T3 could lower the proportion of primitive cells which supply the pool of proliferating cells within spheres. Thyroid receptors THRα1 and THRβ1 and two deiodinases (DIO2 and DIO3) were affected by T3 in manner depended on clinical stage of cancer and CRC cell line used for analysis. In summary, the present study uncovered a novel function of thyroid hormones signaling in the regulation of the CSCs of CRC, and these findings may be useful for developing novel therapies by targeting thyroid hormone functions in CRC cells.

Objective: To compare the effect of RYGB and OAGB on patients after failed treatment of obesity by laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG)., Study Design: A case-control study based on a prospectively maintained database of reoperated patients after failed LSG, which included 33 patients who underwent RYGB conversion and 47 patients who underwent OAGB conversion., Result: The mean %EBWL after a 5-year follow-up for RYGBc vs OAGBc was 84.04% vs 72.95% (p = 0.2176), respectively. Complete long-term diabetes remission was observed significantly more frequently in the OAGBc than in the RYGBc group (97.3% vs 33%; p = 0.035). There were no other statistically significant differences in the remission rate of comorbidities between RYGBc and OAGBc: hypertension 30% vs 27.3% (p = 0.261), dyslipidemia 83.3% vs 59.1% (p = 0.277), OSAS 100% vs 60% (p = 0.639), and GERD 40% vs 71.4% (p > 0.99), respectively. 7 patients were newly diagnosed with GERD after OAGBc and none after RYGBc. There were no statistically significant differences in the number of complications between the OAGBc and RYGB groups. The Comprehensive Complication Index was 17.85 (± IQR 29.6) in the OAGBc group and 14.92 (± IQR 21.75) in the RYGBc group (p = 0.375)., Conclusion: The authors recognized complete long-term type 2 diabetes remission after conversion surgery as the most relevant difference, where the OAGB variety was found superior for its better efficacy. Any other statistically significant differences in the consequences after both conversion procedures used after the failure of LSG have not been stated. Both methods therefore can be considered to complete the initial treatment, considering the preferences and individual burdens of the patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The progress in translational cancer research relies on access to well-characterized samples from a representative number of patients and controls. The rationale behind our biobanking are explorations of post-zygotic pathogenic gene variants, especially in non-tumoral tissue, which might predispose to cancers. The targeted diagnoses are carcinomas of the breast (via mastectomy or breast conserving surgery), colon and rectum, prostate, and urinary bladder (via cystectomy or transurethral resection), exocrine pancreatic carcinoma as well as metastases of colorectal cancer to the liver. The choice was based on the high incidence of these cancers and/or frequent fatal outcome. We also collect age-matched normal controls. Our still ongoing collection originates from five clinical centers and after nearly 2-year cooperation reached 1711 patients and controls, yielding a total of 23226 independent samples, with an average of 74 donors and 1010 samples collected per month. The predominant diagnosis is breast carcinoma, with 933 donors, followed by colorectal carcinoma (383 donors), prostate carcinoma (221 donors), bladder carcinoma (81 donors), exocrine pancreatic carcinoma (15 donors) and metachronous colorectal cancer metastases to liver (14 donors). Forty percent of the total sample count originates from macroscopically healthy cancer-neighboring tissue, while contribution from tumors is 12%, which adds to the uniqueness of our collection for cancer predisposition studies. Moreover, we developed two program packages, enabling registration of patients, clinical data and samples at the participating hospitals as well as the central system of sample/data management at coordinating center. The approach used by us may serve as a model for dispersed biobanking from multiple satellite hospitals. Our biobanking resource ought to stimulate research into genetic mechanisms underlying the development of common cancers. It will allow all available "-omics" approaches on DNA-, RNA-, protein- and tissue levels to be applied. The collected samples can be made available to other research groups., Competing Interests: J.P.D. is cofounder and shareholder in Cray Innovation AB. The remaining authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Purpose: Obesity is associated with alterations in serum fatty acid profiles. One-anastomosis gastric bypass is a type of bariatric surgery used in the treatment of morbid obesity. The aim of this study was to establish if, between 6 and 9 months after this procedure, the fatty acid composition in the serum of patients normalizes to values similar to the healthy, lean population., Materials/methods: The study included 46 patients that underwent surgical treatment for obesity with one-anastomosis gastric bypass. The serum fatty acid composition was determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis was conducted to detect the differences between fatty acid profiles in patients pre- and post-surgery, and in 29 control nonobese subjects., Results: Patients with morbid obesity were characterized by lowered levels of beneficial odd- and branched-chain fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. While the odd- and branched-chain fatty acid amounts normalized 6-9 months after bariatric treatment, the polyunsaturated fatty acid levels did not. Moreover, the total fatty acid profiles of patients pre- and post-bariatric surgery were still markedly different than those of lean, healthy controls., Conclusion: Following one-anastomosis gastric bypass, there are some beneficial changes in serum fatty acids in treated patients, possibly due to weight loss and dietary regimen changes. However, they may be insufficient to restore the proper levels of other fatty acids, which may need to be additionally supplemented., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates alterations in lipid metabolism and lipid composition in neoplastic tissue. Earlier nuclear magnetic resonance studies showed that the contents of major lipid groups, such as triacylglycerols, phospholipids and cholesterol, are changed in colon cancer tissue., Methods: In this study, a more detailed analysis of lipids in cancer and tumor adjacent tissues from colorectal cancer patients, using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, allowed for comparison of 199 different lipids between cancer tissue and tumor adjacent tissue using principal component analysis., Results: Significant differences were found in 67 lipid compounds between the two types of tissue; many of these lipid compounds are bioactive lipids such as ceramides, lysophospholipids or sterols and can influence the development of cancer. Additionally, increased levels of phospholipids and sphingolipids were present, which are major components of the cell membrane, and increases in these lipids can lead to changes in cell membrane properties., Conclusions: This study showed that many complex lipids are significantly increased or decreased in colon cancer tissue, reflecting significant alterations in lipid metabolism. This knowledge can be used for the selection of potential molecular targets of novel anticancer strategies based on the modulation of lipid metabolism and the composition of the cell membrane in colorectal cancer cells., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is often diagnosed at an advanced stage due to the invasiveness of colonoscopy; thus, non-invasive CRC diagnostics are desirable. CRC is associated with lipid alterations. We aimed to verify whether fatty acid (FA) profiles in CRC patients may serve as a potential diagnostic tool for CRC diagnosis. FA profiles were assayed by GC-MS in cancer tissue, paired normal mucosa and serum from CRC patients and healthy controls. The levels of very long FAs - VLCFAs (26:0, 28:0 and 26:1) were the most highly increased FAs in cancer tissue compared to normal colon mucosa. Moreover, these FA were present in serum of CRC patients, they were absent in the serum of healthy subjects, or present in only trace amounts. To verify if cancer cells are the source of small amounts of these VLCFAs in the serum of patients we performed experiment in HT-29 CRC cells, which proved that CRC cells can produce and release VLCFAs into the blood. Most importantly, we defined a panel of FAs that may be assayed in a single analysis that definitely distinguishes CRC patients and healthy subjects, which was confirmed by PLS-DA and multivariate ROC analysis (AUC = 0.985). This study shows that selected FA panel may serve as a diagnostic marker for CRC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Mika, Duzowska, Halinski, Pakiet, Czumaj, Rostkowska, Dobrzycka, Kobiela and Sledzinski.)

Background: Liquid biopsy is a novel tool in oncology. It provides minimally invasive detection of tumor specific DNA. This review summarizes data on presence of circulating tumor DNA in serum or plasma of CRC patients as a potential negative prognostic factor., Materials and Methods: The systematic review was performed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). The search was performed using PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus., Results: In total 18 articles with a total of 1779 patients met the inclusion criteria. Six out of 8 studies found that presence of ctDNA in plasma/serum was associated with inferior overall survival. All 6 studies found that high concentrations of ctDNA in plasma/serum was associated with inferior overall survival., Conclusions: Presence or high concentrations of KRAS mutation in plasma or serum were associated with inferior prognosis. Establishing cut-off concentrations is warranted for further clinical implementation of liquid biopsy., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The primary aim of this study is to compare the clinical course and laboratory parameters of acute cholecystitis in patients with diabetes vs. patients without diabetes., Materials and Methods: The study involved patients who underwent emergency cholecystectomy in the Department of General, Endocrine and Transplant Surgery of University Clinical Center in Gdansk (Poland) between 2007 and 2017. There were 267 patients included in the study. The control group of 197 patients was age and sex matched at a 3:1 ratio. The following was compared between the groups: symptoms at admission, course of surgery, postoperative course, length of hospitalization, total costs of hospitalization and antibiotic therapy, other than routine perioperative prophylaxis., Results: There was no significant difference between the patients with and without diabetes regarding symptoms at admission. Operative and postoperative complication rates were significantly higher in the patients with diabetes. The operative time and length of hospitalization were significantly longer in the study group. The conversion rate was not higher in the study group, but classic surgery was performed significantly more often. The patients without diabetes had less pronounced symptoms with more locally advanced disease., Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that patients with diabetes have a significantly more eventful course of acute cholecystitis than patients without diabetes. Patients with diabetes should therefore be qualified for cholecystectomy early in the course of acute cholecystitis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interests., (Copyright © 2020 Medical University of Bialystok. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Health care services in Poland are delivered by public and private providers. The aims of this study were to assess the attitudes towards private and public health care services in Poland and to identify differences between them, in the opinion of physicians., Material and Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was carried out among physicians attending mandatory courses delivered at the School of Public Health, the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education in Warsaw, Poland. The questionnaire included 29 questions concerning private and public health care services., Results: Completed questionnaires were obtained from 502 physicians (67.7% females), aged 42.1±10.8 years, with a response rate of 77.2%. In the opinion of the surveyed doctors, the major advantages of private health care units, in comparison with public ones, are short waiting times for an appointment (88.2%), an efficient on-site service (78.6%) and convenient appointment times (75.7%). The respondents gave high scores to items such as relations with patients (p < 0.001), superiors (p < 0.001) and colleagues (p = 0.03) when working in private, rather than public, institutions. In the opinion of physicians, public health care institutions guarantee better employment conditions (44.4% vs. 13%; p < 0.001) and security (29.1% vs. 11.1%; p < 0.001) than private ones. The respondents did not observe any differences (p > 0.05) between public and private facilities in terms of the involvement of medical staff and infrastructure. There were significant differences (p < 0.001) in the perception of working conditions in public and private health care institutions depending on the medical education level and the place of primary employment., Conclusions: Among physicians in Poland, private medical institutions are perceived as better organized and granting faster as well as more comprehensive access to health care services when compared to public ones. Closing the gaps between working conditions in public and private units could encourage physicians to practice in the public health care sector. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020;33(2):195-214., (This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.)

Background: Subjects with morbid obesity have low levels of serum branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs), which correlate inversely with insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, and inflammation. Recent evidence suggests BCFAs are produced during branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism in human adipose tissue. Elevated concentrations of BCAAs are associated with insulin resistance., Objectives: In this single-center study, we evaluated the effect of one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) on circulating BCFA and BCAA. Moreover, we determined the expression of genes involved in BCAA catabolism in adipose tissue of patients with obesity and lean controls., Methods: Fasting levels of BCFAs and BCAAs were determined by gas and liquid chromatography, respectively, coupled with mass spectrometry, in 50 patients with morbid obesity before and 6-9 months after surgery, and in 32 lean controls. Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT and SAT, respectively) biopsies were collected at baseline to determine mRNA levels for enzymes involved in BCAA catabolism., Results: Before surgery, patients with obesity had lower BCFAs and greater BCAAs than control subjects. OAGB increased BCFA and decreased BCAA levels. Insulin resistance (assessed by HOMA) correlated inversely with BCFAs and positively with BCAAs. Expression of genes involved in BCAA catabolism in VAT (but not SAT) was lower in patients with obesity than in lean controls., Conclusions: OAGB-induced weight loss increases circulating BCFAs and decreases circulating BCAAs in patients with morbid obesity, perhaps by altering BCAA catabolism in VAT. We speculate that this shift may be related to the improvement in insulin sensitivity after surgery.

BACKGROUND Electronic nicotine delivery systems, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are gaining popularity. The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge and beliefs about e-cigarettes among physicians in Poland. MATERIAL AND METHODS A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among physicians attending mandatory courses delivered at the School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education (Warsaw, Poland). The questionnaire included 24 questions concerning beliefs and attitudes about e-cigarettes. RESULTS Data were obtained from 412 physicians (64.3% females; aged 31.9±5.7 years) with a response rate of 82.4%. Among participants, 99.8% were aware of e-cigarettes. The main sources of information about e-cigarettes were: news stories (67.2%) or points of sale of e-cigarettes (67.6%). Approximately half of respondents (50.2%) declared moderate knowledge about e-cigarettes, and over three-quarters (78.1%) declared willingness to learn more about e-cigarettes. The majority (96.5%) of participants agreed with the statement that e-cigarette use is harmful to the user's health, and most (80.5%) agreed that exhaled e-cigarette aerosol is harmful to bystanders. The statement that e-cigarettes could be "gateway" to conventional smoking was supported by 87% of participants. Only 11.5% of physicians agreed that e-cigarettes should be recommended as a smoking cessation method. CONCLUSIONS Physicians in Poland perceive e-cigarettes as harmful and addictive. Physicians' knowledge about e-cigarettes is mostly based on non-scientific sources, which points out the urgent need to develop national smoking cessation guidelines regulating the issue of e-cigarettes based on scientific evidence.

Background/aim: Fatty acid synthase (FASN) provides palmitate for cell membrane formation in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, however, palmitate is also available in the blood of CRC patients. The aim of this study was to examine whether orlistat, a FASN inhibitor, is able to attenuate CRC cell growth despite the availability of extracellular palmitate., Materials and Methods: Palmitate concentrations were measured in serum from CRC patients and healthy controls. HT-29 CRC cells were treated with orlistat and palmitate., Results: Treatment of CRC cells with orlistat caused a dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. In turn, delivery of extracellular palmitate at doses lower than those found in the serum of CRC patients reversed inhibition by orlistat concentrations of up to 10 μM., Conclusion: Inhibition of CRC cell proliferation by orlistat is reversed by palmitate which is present at high levels in the serum. Therefore, orlistat may be effective in vivo only at high concentrations., (Copyright© 2019, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Corynebacterium coyleae is part of the commensal microflora of the skin, urethra, mucous membranes, and genital tract. Isolates from patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) were reported, but the pathogenic potential of this species has not been defined yet. The aim of the study is to determine whether C. coyleae could be the etiological agent of UTI and to analyze its antibiotic susceptibility. Urine samples were cultured quantitatively according to accepted laboratory procedures. The identification of bacterial isolates was carried out using the Vitek MS (bioMérieux) and antibiotic susceptibility was tested using disc diffusion according to EUCAST guidelines. Between 1 January 2017 and 30 October 2018, a total of 39 C. coyleae strains were isolated. This represented 0.32% of all urine samples cultured in the laboratory during the collection period. The strains were isolated from samples obtained from 35 women and 3 men (age median for all-64 years). One female patient presented with C. coyleae in her urine twice at an interval of 21 months. In six cases of UTI, C. coyleae was isolated in monoculture. The isolates had the same resistance pattern. A total of 11 strains were obtained from cases with a clinical diagnosis of UTI. In 13 cases, the strain was cultured in a monoculture and in 28 cases with accompanying species. All strains were susceptible to vancomycin. However, resistance to ciprofloxacin was observed for 58.4% of the strains. Urine isolates of C. coyleae must be considered as contamination or normal flora in most cases (28/39, 72%). In the remaining cases, it can be considered as potential etiologic agents, mostly in women and especially in the 6 UTI cases where C. coyleae was found as the single culture-positive species. Several of these isolates demonstrate resistance to antibiotics commonly used in empiric treatment of urinary tract infections.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death. The prevalence of colorectal neoplasm is increasing. Many studies have shown that thyroid dysfunction may be connected with the higher risk of pancreatic and breast cancer, but only a few described the role of thyroid dysfunction and thyroid hormone (TH) replacement in the development and risk of CRC. The aim of this study is to summarise all findings and potentially elucidate the connection between TH imbalance and colorectal cancer. The systematic review was conducted according to PICO and PRISMA guidelines. We searched MEDLINE, ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu, and Cochrane Library databases using the following keywords: "((((thyroid OR hypothyroidism OR hyperthyroidism OR levothyroxine OR hashimoto OR graves OR thyroidectomy)) AND (colon OR colorectal OR CRC)) NOT hashimoto[Author]) NOT graves[Author])". No filters were used. Of total of 3054 articles identified by the search strategy, 11 met PICO criteria and were included into the review. Four of those were on cell lines and seven were human studies. Analysis of the included studies revealed an elevated risk of CRC in patients with hypothyroidism with aORs ranging from 1.16 (95% CI: 1.08-1.24, p < 0.001) to 1.69 (95% CI: 1.21-2.36, p = 0.002). Moreover, TH replacement therapy has a protective effect for CRC risk with aOR ranging from 0.60 (95% CI: 0.44-0.81, p = 0.001) to 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86-0.98, p = 0.009). THs seem to play a role in colorectal carcinogenesis. Further studies are warranted to define the exact role of thyroid hormone imbalance in prevention and treatment of CRC.

Background: This is the first report on the epidemiology of biopsy-proven kidney diseases in Poland., Methods: The Polish Registry of Renal Biopsies has collected information on all (n = 9394) native renal biopsies performed in Poland from 2009 to 2014. Patients' clinical data collected at the time of biopsy, and histopathological diagnoses were used for epidemiological and clinicopathologic analysis., Results: There was a gradual increase in the number of native renal biopsies performed per million people (PMP) per year in Poland in 2009-14, starting from 36 PMP in 2009 to 44 PMP in 2014. A considerable variability between provinces in the mean number of biopsies performed in the period covered was found, ranging from 5 to 77 PMP/year. The most common renal biopsy diagnoses in adults were immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) (20%), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (15%) and membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) (11%), whereas in children, minimal change disease (22%), IgAN (20%) and FSGS (10%) were dominant. Due to insufficient data on the paediatric population, the clinicopathologic analysis was limited to patients ≥18 years of age. At the time of renal biopsy, the majority of adult patients presented nephrotic-range proteinuria (45.2%), followed by urinary abnormalities (38.3%), nephritic syndrome (13.8%) and isolated haematuria (1.7%). Among nephrotic patients, primary glomerulopathies dominated (67.6% in those 18-64 years of age and 62.4% in elderly patients) with leading diagnoses being MGN (17.1%), FSGS (16.2%) and IgAN (13.0%) in the younger cohort and MGN (23.5%), amyloidosis (18.8%) and FSGS (16.8%) in the elderly cohort. Among nephritic patients 18-64 years of age, the majority (55.9%) suffered from primary glomerulopathies, with a predominance of IgAN (31.3%), FSGS (12.7%) and crescentic GN (CGN) (11.1%). Among elderly nephritic patients, primary and secondary glomerulopathies were equally common (41.9% each) and pauci-immune GN (24.7%), CGN (20.4%) and IgAN (14.0%) were predominant. In both adult cohorts, urinary abnormalities were mostly related to primary glomerulopathies (66.8% in younger and 50% in elderly patients) and the leading diagnoses were IgAN (31.4%), FSGS (15.9%), lupus nephritis (10.7%) and FSGS (19.2%), MGN (15.1%) and pauci-immune GN (12.3%), respectively. There were significant differences in clinical characteristics and renal biopsy findings between male and female adult patients., Conclusions: The registry data focused new light on the epidemiology of kidney diseases in Poland. These data should be used in future follow-up and prospective studies., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.)

Background: Longer life expectancy is associated with an increasing prevalence of kidney disease. Aging itself may cause renal damage, but the spectrum of kidney disorders that affect elderly patients is diverse. Few studies, mostly form US, Asia and West Europe found differences in the prevalence of some types of kidney diseases between elderly and younger patients based on renal biopsy findings, with varied proportion between glomerulopathies and arterionephrosclerosis as a dominant injury found. Here, for the first time in Eastern Europe we analyzed native kidney biopsy findings and their relationship to clinical characteristics at the time of biopsy in elderly individuals (aged ≥65) in comparison to younger adults (aged 18-64)., Methods: Biopsy and clinical data from 352 patients aged ≥65 were retrospectively identified, analyzed and compared with a control group of 2214 individuals aged 18-64. All kidney biopsies studied were examined at Medical University of Warsaw in years 2009-14., Results: In elderly patients the leading indication for biopsy was nephrotic range proteinuria without hematuria (34.2%) and the most prevalent pathologic diagnoses were: membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) (18.2%), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (17.3%) amyloidosis (13.9%) and pauci immune glomerulonephritis (12.8%). Hypertension and age-related lesions very rarely were found an exclusive or dominant finding in a kidney biopsy (1.7%) and a cause of proteinuria (1.1%) in elderly individuals. There were 18.2% diabetics among elderly individuals, and as much as 75% of them had no morphologic signs of diabetic kidney disease in the renal biopsy. Amyloidosis, MGN, pauci immune GN, crescentic GN and light and/or heavy chain deposition disease (LCDD/HCDD) were more frequent whereas IgA nephropathy (IgAN), lupus nephritis (LN) and thin basement membrane disease (TBMD) were less common among elderly than in younger patients., Conclusions: Proteinuria, a dominating manifestation in elderly patients subjected to kidney biopsy was most commonly related to glomerulopathies. The relatively high prevalence of potentially curative kidney diseases in elderly individuals implicates the importance of renal biopsy in these patients.