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Introduction: With the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it was believed to be a direct respiratory virus. But, its deleterious effects were observed on different body systems, including kidneys. Aim of Work: In this review, we tried as much as we can to summarize what has been discussed in the literature about the relation between SARS-CoV-2 infection and kidneys since December, 2019.Methods: Each part of the review was assigned to one or two authors to search for relevant articles in three databases (Pubmed, Scopus, and Google scholar) and collected data were summarized and revised by two independent researchers. Conclusion:The complexity of COVID-19 pandemic and kidney could be attributed to the direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the kidneys, different clinical presentation, difficulties confronting dialysis patients, restrictions of the organ transplant programs, poor outcomes and bad prognosis in patients with known history of kidney diseases who got infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Background and study aim: Liver enzymes are important markers for hepatocyte damage. Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a combination of metabolic abnormalities including high blood glucose, obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia. The incidence of MS is believed to be increasing in Egypt. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between elevated liver enzymes and MS among Egyptian adults. Patients and Methods: A total 138 apparently healthy subjects were randomly included (99 females and 39 males). Demographic, clinical (blood pressure, body mass index and waist circumference) and biochemical (measurements of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lipid profile, blood glucose and viral markers) were collected from every subject. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to a well-known criteria and subjects in the final analysis were divided into group I; metabolic syndrome and group II; non-metabolic syndrome subjects. Results: In this study, 92 persons fulfilled three of the five criteria of metabolic syndrome (group I) with prevalence of 66.7% while group II (non-metabolic syndrome) represented 33.3%. Patients with MS were older and less physically active in comparison with group II. There were an association between elevations in liver enzymes (ALT, AST, ALP) and MS. ALT, AST and ALP were elevated in 42.4%, 17.2% and 20.7% of patients with MS respectively. ALT and AST showed positive correlation with elevated blood glucose and triglycerides levels while AST/ALT ratio showed negative correlation with diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides level and waist circumference. The more items of MS the patient have the higher the level of liver enzymes. Conclusion: Among Egyptian adults elevated levels of liver enzymes were associated with MS and a correlation was noticed with its components.

Background and Aims Lupus nephritis (LN) is a common complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that is associated with poor prognosis. The current available urinary biomarkers are neither sensitive nor specific for diagnosing LN. This study was undertaken to investigate whether urinary hepcidin represents a marker of nephritis in SLE patients. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted with 3 study groups compromising 30 patients with biopsy proven LN, 30 patients with non-nephritis SLE and 20 healthy control. Spot urinary samples were collected from all participants and the levels of hepcidin in urine were measured by ELISA, 24 h urinary proteins, urinary and serum creatinine were measured. Results Urinary hepcidin was significantly higher in LN patients than in non-nephritis SLE and control (470, 258, 43.0 ng/mg creatinine respectively) (P < 0.001) as shown in figure 1. Urinary hepcidin was significantly correlated with serum creatinine (P 0.017) and 24 hours urinary proteins (P 0.003). ROC curve cut-off values of urinary hepcidin were 4.3000, Area under curve (AUC) of hepcidin was 0.553, with sensitivity (SN) of 63.3%, specificity (SP) of 60%, Positive predictive value (PPV) 70.4, negative predictive value (NPV) 52.2 in SLE patients as shown in table 1 and figure 2. Conclusion Although urinary hepcidin level was significantly higher in LN patients than in non-nephritis SLE and control, it failed to discriminate patients with LN from those without. Further studies are still needed before considering urinary hepcidin as a non-invasive diagnostic marker of LN.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To assess the level of renal inflammatory marker monocyte chemoattractant protein -1(MCP-1), measure the urinary MCP to urinary creatinine concentration ratio in morbidly obese patients before and after bariatric surgeries. To study if there any possible relation between the MCP1 levels and renal function before and after surgery. METHOD This prospective study of 40 morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery was recruited in the study in the interval between October 2018 and July 2019. Evaluate the level of MCP-1, urinary creatinine, urinary albumin, glomerular filtration rate, body weight, body mass index, CRP, serum albumin, blood pressure and lipid profile before and after 3 months of bariatric surgeries. RESULTS The mean urinary level of MCP1 preoperative was 105.19 ± 15.25 pg/mL (range between 75.41 and 131.67) and this level was decreased postoperatively to 74.20 ± 22.77 (range between 30.5 and 114.4) with high statistically significant difference (P < .001). While urinary MCP1/creatinine ratio, bariatric surgery significantly reduced the mean of urinary MCP1/creatinine ratios from 2.08 ± 1.43 to 0.86 ± 0.51 (P < 0.001). Significant improvement of blood pressure, CRP, lipid profile and body mass index after bariatric surgeries. CONCLUSION We reported that urinary MCP-1 levels following bariatric surgery can be used as potential marker to the ongoing renal inflammatory process.