Nephrology

Rhabdomyolysis is “A possibly fatal condition in which skeletal muscle breaks down due to injury such as physical damage to the muscle, high fever, metabolic disorders, excessive exertion, convulsions or anoxia of the muscle for several hours, large amounts of myoglobin are usually excreted.”(Huether & McCance, 2012, p. 1097) In acute renal failure myoglobin precipitates in the tubules obstructing the flow through the nephrons and causing injury. Damage to the myocyte causes an influx of sodium…

Chronic Renal Failure Chronic renal failure is an illness that involves the gradual loss of kidney function to the point that the nephrons lose their filtration abilities. Chronic kidney disease is increasing in prevalence in the United States, and this is causing significant financial and social implications. One major issue is that the disease has poor outcomes, and there is a need for the development of new interventions. Studies illustrate that there is a high prevalence of the earlier…

Acute kidney failure “Acute kidney failure starts with the kidney(s) failure in the process of filtering waste products from the blood.” (Mayo Clinic staff, 2016). When the kidneys can no longer filter well enough, the wastes start to add up in the blood of the body and the blood levels become imbalanced. This can happen over a few days or in a short period of time. Acute kidney failure is very common in people who are already in the hospital or patients in intensive care units. “Causes of Acute…

Case summary: A 69 years old male with known CKD and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was admitted to hospital following a GP visit. Increased prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and raised creatinine levels were observed in his blood tests. Patient was referred from GP due to worsening of creatinine on a background of 2 months of increasing pedal oedema. Ultrasound scan showed no renal obstruction and a renal biopsy confirmed pANCA vasculitis. Urinalysis also confirmed presence of glucose,…

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) maintains osmolality by regulating water reabsorption in the principal cells of the kidneys’ renal collecting duct. AVP is synthesized in the hypothalamus and released by the neurohypophysis. AVP binds to the G-protein couple receptor, arginine vasopressin receptor type 2 (AVPR2), in the basolateral membrane of the kidneys. This leads to transport of aquaporin water channels (AQP2) to the apical membrane of the collecting duct principal cells. Water permeability is…

Chronic Renal Failure As stated in this post chronic renal failure is a “slow progressive, irreversible loss in kidney function” (Silvestri, 2011). Chronic renal failure causes damages to all the major organs in the body. People affected by this disease usually have to get new kidneys from a donor or go to dialysis to be able to function. Many factors can cause the kidneys to shut down. Diabetes mellitus is considered one of the leading causes of renal failure. Other problems like hypertension,…

Discussion Catabolic pathways break down substrates for use by the cell - pick one of the catabolic pathways and carry out some background research; what are the inputs and outputs of the pathway? Are the inputs coming from other pathways, or are they scavenged by the cell? Are the intermediates used in any other processes? How ubiquitous is this pathway? After my reading this week, I had much better understanding on what really takes place during metabolism (catabolic reaction). Purine…

Addison Disease Addison disease is a condition in which the adrenal glands do not make enough of the hormones cortisol and aldosterone. The disease causes blood pressure to drop and potassium to build up to dangerous levels. If Addison disease is untreated, it can suddenly get worse and become life-threatening. A sudden worsening of the disease is called an addisonian crisis. CAUSES This condition may be caused by: A disease in which the body's own immune system damages the adrenal glands…

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) occurs when there is a sudden loss of renal function resulting in the bodies inability to maintain homeostasis. AKI is common in clients who are in the hospital, in intensive care units, and especially in older adults (“Acute Kidney Injury” (AKI), 2017). The following is an evolving case study regarding a client who presented to the emergency department after experiencing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea for the past week. This evolving case study will evaluate the…

As Type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure continue to spate the world, the demand for kidney transplants is snowballing day by day. Because of a scarcity of organ donors to meet this requisite, stem cell treatment for kidney failure materialize as a hope to cure thousands of patients as a substitute treatment. How does a kidney failure occur? Our kidneys are designed to inhibit toxins build up in our bodies. Kidneys help confiscate lots of waste, cleaning our bodies from within so that no…