These results suggest that macrophages are an important mediator in the initiation period of ischaemia/reperfusion injury and strategies that limit initial macrophage infiltration or activation can be useful in the treatment of acute renal failure.

These data provide evidence that ERK1/2 pathway functions as an upstream signal for TNF-alpha-mediated inflammation and caspase 3-mediated apoptosis in cisplatin-induced ARF in mice and suggest that ERK1/2 can be a novel therapeutic target in cisplatin nephrotoxicity.

As a result of the high rate of infection, the NKF-K/DOQI guidelines recommended that an uncuffed catheter (UC) should not be used for longer than three weeks. However, the findings of the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study recognized that 48% of new hemodialysis patients in the US and 75% in Europe used UC for temporary access during arteriovenous fistula or graft maturation. The antibiotic lock technique (ALT) has been recommended to prevent catheter-related bacteremia (CRB). Here, we prospectively evaluated the efficacy of catheter-restricted filling using an antibiotic lock solution in preventing CRB. A total of 120 new hemodialysis patients requiring a temporary catheter while waiting for placement and maturation of an arteriovenous fistula or graft were enrolled in this study. Patients with a UC were randomly assigned to receive either an antibiotic-heparin lock solution (antibiotic group: cefazolin 10 mg/ml, gentamicin 5 mg/ml, heparin 1000 U/ml) or a heparin lock solution (no-antibiotic group: heparin 1000 U/ml) as a catheter lock solution during the interdialytic period. The end point of the trial was CRB. CRB developed in seven (11.7%) patients in the no-antibiotic group (Staphylococcus aureus, two; Staphylococcus epidermidis, five) whereas only one patient in the antibiotic group had S. aureus bacteremia. CRB rates per 1000 catheter-days were 0.44 in the antibiotic group versus 3.12 in the no-antibiotic group (P=0.031). Kaplan-Meier analysis also showed that mean CRB-free catheter survival of 59 days (95% CI, 58-61 days) in the antibiotic group was greater than that in the no-antibiotic group (55 days; 95% CI, 50-59 days). The results suggest that ALT may be a beneficial means of reducing the CRB rate in hemodialysis patients with UC.

Anemia is a common and significant complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, its prevalence and current management status has not been studied thoroughly in Korea. We examined the prevalence of anemia, its association with clinical and laboratory factors, and utilization of iron agents and erythropoiesis stimulating agents using the baseline data from the large-scale CKD cohort in Korea. We defined anemia when hemoglobin level was lower than 13.0 g/dL in males and 12.0 g/dL in females, or received by erythropoiesis stimulating agents. Overall prevalence of anemia was 45.0% among 2,198 non-dialysis CKD patients from stage 1 to 5. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) as a cause, CKD stages, body mass index (BMI), smoking, leukocyte count, serum albumin, iron markers, calcium, and phosphorus concentration were identified as independent risk factors for anemia. Considering the current coverage of Korean National Health Insurance System, only 7.9% among applicable patients were managed by intravenous iron agents, and 42.7% were managed by erythropoiesis stimulating agents.

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