Improvements in the care of kidney transplant recipients and advances in immunosuppressive therapy have reduced the incidence of graft rejection. As a result, other types of kidney transplant complications, such as surgical, urologic, parenchymal, and vascular complications, have become more common. Although vascular complications account for only 5-10 % of all post-transplant complications, they are a frequent cause of graft loss. Ultrasonography, both in B-mode and with Doppler ultrasound, is a fundamental tool in the differential diagnosis of renal allograft dysfunction. Doppler ultrasound is highly specific in cases of transplanted renal artery stenosis, pseudoaneurysms, arteriovenous fistulas, and thrombosis with complete or partial artery or vein occlusion. A single measurements of color Doppler indexes display high diagnostic accuracy and in particular cases are more useful during the post-transplantation follow-up period. More recent techniques, such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound, undoubtedly increase the accuracy of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of vascular complications involving the transplanted kidney. Keywords Ultrasonography Á Doppler ultrasound Á Renal transplant Á Vascular complicationsRiassunto La progressiva riduzione dell'incidenza del rigetto ha reso più frequenti le complicanze urologiche, chirurgiche, parenchimali e vascolari. Queste ultime, pur rappresentando soltanto il 5-10 % di tutte le complicanze post-trapianto, sono frequente causa di perdita del graft. L'esame ultrasonografico, sia in B-mode che con l'ausilio del color Doppler, è fondamentale nella diagnosi differenziale delle cause che possono innescare una disfunzione del graft. Sebbene sia ormai indiscussa la sua utilità nella diagnosi di complicanze parenchimali, chirurgiche e urologiche, non è ancora consolidato il suo ruolo in caso di (2015( ) 18:101-107 DOI 10.1007 complicanze a carico dell'asse vascolare renale. L'ecocolor-Doppler, in particolare, possiede una specificità tale da poter essere considerato uno strumento diagnostico nella maggior parte delle complicanze vascolari del rene trapiantato, sia acute (occlusione parziale o totale dei vasi renali) che croniche (stenosi dell'arteria renale, pseudo aneurisma e fistola artero-venosa) Gli indici color-Doppler possiedono, infatti, una alta accuratezza diagnostica nella loro singola determinazione, risultando in casi particolari più utili nel follow-up. L'utilizzo di tecniche più moderne, come il mezzo di contrasto ecografico, consente indubbiamente di aumentare l'accuratezza diagnostica dell'esame ultrasonografico nel caso delle complicanze vascolari del rene trapiantato.

In renal diagnosis, the B-mode ultrasound is used to provide an accurate study of the renal morphology, whereas the colour and power Doppler are of strategic importance in providing qualitative and quantitative information about the renal vasculature, which can also be obtained through the assessment of the resistive index (RI). To date, this is one of the most sensitive parameters in the study of kidney diseases and allows us to quantify the changes in renal plasma flow. If a proper Doppler ultrasound examination is carried out and a critical analysis of the values obtained is performed, the RI measurement at the interlobar artery level has been suggested in the differential diagnosis between nephropathies. The aim of this review is to highlight the pathological conditions in which the study of intrarenal RI provides useful information about the pathophysiology of renal diseases in both the native and the transplanted kidneys.

Aim: With the rationale that amyloid beta (AB) is toxic to the retina, we here assessed the role of TRAIL, a mediator of AB toxicity and related signal transduction, in a rat model. We also attempted to demonstrate possible protective effects of s1 receptor agonists in these processes. Methods: AB and the s1 receptor agonist Pre-084 were injected intravitreally in the anaesthetised rat. In additional experiments, the s1 receptor antagonist BD1047 was administered to assess specificity of the effects of Pre-084. Western blot analysis was performed on retinas to evaluate the expression of TRAIL and TRAIL receptors in the retina, as well as of Bax and phosphorylated JNK following the different treatments. Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) levels were measured as a cytotoxicity marker. Results: All TRAIL receptors were expressed in rat retinas. Intravitreal injection of AB in rat eyes induced overexpression of TRAIL and the proapoptotic protein Bax, as well as phosphorylation of JNK. All these effects of AB were abrogated by pretreatment with the s 1 receptor agonist Pre-084. Conclusions: It is likely that TRAIL is a mediator of AB effects on the retina. In light of their specific inhibitory effects upon TRAIL expression, it is plausible to hypothesise that s 1 receptor agonists could represent potential pharmacological tools for restraining AB related retinal damage.

Abstract. Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women. It is frequently treated with chemotherapy and hormone therapy. More recently, however, 'targeted therapy' has emerged as an important approach to cancer therapy. Targeted therapy works by interfering with a specific molecular target, though inter-individual variability in drug response often causes treatment failure. Anticancer agents inhibit breast cancer progression by several different mechanisms. The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signal transduction pathway regulates cell cycle progression and apoptosis in diverse cell types. Alterations in this pathway are often associated with human cancer, including breast cancer. Understanding breast cancer biology is useful for the identification of appropriate anticancer drugs. This review describes the effect of gene alterations on breast cancer development. In addition, it shows how each anticancer drug used to treat breast cancer may block aberrant cell proliferation. Finally, the mechanisms of resistance to therapy are also discussed.

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