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Publications (4)5.97 Total impact

  • Article: Parathyroid hormone and large related C-terminal fragments increase at different rates with worsening of renal function in chronic kidney disease patients. A possible indicator of bone turnover status?
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    ABSTRACT: The intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) serum value has been the non-invasive biomarker of choice for the early diagnosis of renal bone disease in the chronic kidney disease (CKD) patient population. It has now been known that the intact PTH assay value is the sum of 1-84 PTH (true hypercalcemic PTH) and large C-terminal PTH fragments, mainly 7-84 PTH, a fragment with hypocalcemic hormone actions. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences among the different functional stages of CKD in the following PTH parameters: intact PTH, 1-84 PTH, 7-84 PTH, and the ratio 1-84 PTH/7-84 PTH. GFR (clearance of 99mTc-DTPA) was measured in 164 (85 males and 79 females) adult CKD patients with different degrees of renal function impairment (serum creatinine 0.50 12.1 mg/dl, mean 2.00). Plasma concentrations of calcium, phosphate, 1-84 PTH and intact PTH were also measured. The value of 7-84 PTH was calculated as the difference between intact PTH and 1-84 PTH. The reduction of, GFR was accompanied by an increase of intact PTH, with a prevalent increase of 7-84 PTH over 1-84 PTH, resulting in a decrease of the ratio 1-84 PTH/7-84 PTH. The values of 7-84 PTH showed a discrimination between Stages 1 and 2 (GFR > 60 ml/min ) and Stage 3 (GFR 30 60 ml/ min) CKD patient populations. In fact, 7-84 PTH was already significantly increased in patients at CKD Stage 3. The analysis of individual patients indicated that a low value (< 1.4) of the ratio 1-84 PTH/7-84 PTH, suggestive for low bone turnover, was already found in more than 20% of CKD Stage 3 patients. The results of the present study demonstrate that the reduction in GFR is accompanied by a higher increase in 7-84 PTH with respect to 1-84 PTH, which suggests the possibility that bone metabolism and calcemic status are already reduced in patients with moderate renal failure (CKD Stage 3).
    Clinical nephrology 04/2007; 67(3):131-9. · 1.17 Impact Factor
  • Article: Cystatin C, beta 2-microglobulin, and retinol-binding protein as indicators of glomerular filtration rate: comparison with plasma creatinine.
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    ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of plasma levels of three low-molecular weight proteins cystatin C, beta 2-microglobulin, and retinol-binding protein, as indicators of impairment of glomerular filtration rate in comparison with plasma creatinine. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured in 110 patients (51 M and 59 F, aged 18--79 years); creatinine (Creat), cystatin C (Cys), beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2M), and retinol-binding protein (RBP) were determined on the same day. The correlation coefficients between the different markers and GFR were determined. Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was performed to assess their diagnostic accuracy. Furthermore, the relationship between plasma levels of the examined markers of GFR and body weight, height, fat-free mass (FFM) and body cell mass (BCM) was determined. FFM and BCM were calculated by means of total body electrical impedance measurement. Serum concentrations of Cys, beta 2M and RBP increase progressively with the reduction of GFR. The magnitude of the increase in blood levels of Creat and beta 2M was higher than the increase of Cys, and much more than that of RBP, in particular in patients with GFR<20 ml/min/1.73 m(2). The correlation coefficients between GFR and 1/plasma concentrations were 0.647 for Creat, 0.651 for Cys, 0.731 for beta 2M, and 0.406 for RBP. ROC analysis indicated that the accuracy of beta 2M and Cys, as indicators of different degrees of GFR impairment (<80, <60, and <40 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)), was similar to that of Creat, while the diagnostic accuracy of RBP resulted significantly lower than that of Creat for any level of GFR. In patients without renal failure (GFR>40 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)), plasma concentrations of Creat were positively correlated with body weight (P<0.01), height (P<0.01), FFM (P<0.001) and BCM (P<0.001). Serum concentrations of RBP resulted correlated with FFM (P<0.05) and BCM (P<0.05), while no correlation was found between anthropometric data and Cys and beta 2M. Cystatin C and beta 2-microglobulin have a diagnostic accuracy very similar to that of creatinine, while retinol-binding protein is not an adequate marker of glomerular filtration.
    Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis 04/2001; 24(5-6):835-42. · 2.97 Impact Factor
  • Article: Nutritional status in renal transplant recipients, evaluated by means of body composition analysis.
    Transplantation Proceedings 33(7-8):3398-9. · 1.00 Impact Factor
  • Article: Renal effects of cardiac angiography with different low-osmolar contrast media.
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    ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to evaluate the renal effects of cardiac angiography performed with three low-osmolar contrast media (CM): iopromide (IPR), ioversol (IVR) and ioxaglate (IOX). IPR and IVR are non-ionic CM, IOX is an ionic CM. Different parameters of renal function were determined before and 6, 24, 48, 72 hrs after angiography in 45 patients: 15 patients were examined with IPR, 15 with IVR and 15 with IOX. Glomerular effects--Plasma creatinine increased slightly at the 24th hour after IVR and IOX and at 48 hours after IOP. A significant increase in plasma beta2-microglobulin was observed, at the same time, only after IOX. A significant decrease in creatinine clearance was found at 6 hours after IOX. No significant variations in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and in effective renal plasma flow were found at 48 hours after cardiac angiography; while filtration fraction was significantly reduced after IOP and IOX. Tubular effects--A marked decrease in sodium clearance and a relevant increase of urinary activities of different tubular enzymes were found after cardiac angiography with all CM, but were more evident after the ionic CM IOX, than after the two non-ionic agents. These tubular effects reached the maximum between 6 and 24 hours and returned to baseline within 72 hrs after cardiac angiography. In conclusion, slight glomerular effects were observed mainly after IOX. A reversible tubular malfunction was found with the three low-osmolar CM and was more evident after ionic CM IOX. thus suggesting that other mechanisms, besides osmolarity, play a role in tubular toxicity due to CM. In no patient did the glomerular and tubular effects of CM have a clinical relevance.
    Renal Failure 23(3-4):385-96. · 0.82 Impact Factor