Search

The aim of the study was to examine the urinary levels and clinical significance of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (uMCP-1) in children according to histological diagnosis and degree of proteinuria.Group I comprised 20 children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS), examined twice (A, during INS relapse; and B, after proteinuria subsided). Group II comprised 17 children with persistent proteinuria due to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Group III included 12 children with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). The control group (C) contained 22 healthy children. uMCP-1 was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and expressed in pg/ml.The median uMCP-1/creatinine ratio (uMCP-1/cr) in children with minimal change disease in relapse (IA) was significantly higher than in controls (p0.05), but when controlling for cyclosporine A (CsA) treatment the median uMCP-1 in children with INS, who were not treated with CsA, was 12.01 pg/mg cr (range 1.82-261.56 pg/mg cr) and did not differ from healthy controls. In examination IB the uMCP-1/cr concentration decreased and did not differ from healthy controls (p0.05). Children from groups II and III also had higher uMCP-1/cr levels than groups I and C (p0.01). uMCP-1/cr positively correlated with serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein and protein/creatinine ratio in relapse (IA), and with serum cholesterol level in group B. A positive correlation between uMCP-1/cr and protein/creatinine ratio was also confirmed in groups II and III.Increased uMCP-1 was found in children with IgAN and FSGS correlated with proteinuria. A slight increase in uMCP-1 in children with INS was probably associated with CsA treatment.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify whether plasma symmetric dimethylarginine (pSDMA) is a useful marker of renal function in children.The study group consisted of 35 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 1-5 (median age 11.5 years), classified on the basis of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and divided into three groups: group A, patients with CKD stages 1 and 2; group B, CKD stage 3; and group C, CKD stages 4 and 5. A control group included 42 age-matched healthy children. Commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were used to measure pSDMA and serum cystatin C (sCysC) concentrations.The pSDMA and sCysC levels were significantly elevated in all CKD patients in comparison with healthy controls (p0.05). The pSDMA level in children was increased in the mild CKD (group A) (p0.01). There were also a significant difference in pSDMA concentration between groups A and B (p0.01). No differences in pSDMA levels were found between groups B and C. Receiver operating characteristics analyses showed that pSDMA was a better diagnostic tool than sCysC for identifying CKD stage among all the examined children and for detecting patients from group A (eGFR60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)).Increased pSDMA and sCysC levels were found in CKD children. Further studies are required to confirm potential applications of pSDMA and CysC as useful biomarkers for the diagnosis and progression of CKD.

To assess functional day-time bladder capacity (DBC) and urine osmolality in children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE) according to age and sex.A total of 263 children with PMNE were divided into two groups: Group I, 160 children (63 girls, 97 boys) aged 5-9 years (mean age 7.14+/-1.47 years); and Group II, 103 children (25 girls, 78 boys) aged 10-15 years (mean age 12.26+/-1.52 years). DBC (milliliters) was the largest void of the day measured over four 24-h periods, irrespective of the diet applied. Urine osmolality was determined three times: in the evening before bed-time; at night, 2-4 h after falling asleep; and in the morning in the nocturnal void.DBC was smaller in Group I than in Group II (151.27 vs 199.46 ml; p0.05). No statistically significant differences were found in relation to sex (p0.05). The mean osmolality of the nocturnal void in the morning was 854.15 and 909.22 mOsmol/kg H(2)O in Groups I and II, respectively (p0.05). Differences between boys and girls were not statistically significant (p0.05). No correlation was found between DBC and urine osmolality (p0.05). A detailed analysis of the results revealed DBC below the 5th percentile or above the 95th percentile in 23/263 cases (8.7%), reduced osmolality (800 mOsmol/kg H(2)O) in 76/263 (28.8%), a familial nature of nocturnal enuresis in 124/263 (47.1%) and difficulty waking in 86/263 (32.7%).In children with PMNE aged 5-15 years, functional DBC increases with age and does not differ between the sexes; the mean nocturnal urine osmolality is neither age- nor sex-dependent.