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The incidence of kidney cancer has been increasing steadily and, until recently, there was a substantial lack of effective therapies for a cancer that is now among the 10 most common cancers in men and women. During the past 10 years, novel therapies have been developed including antiangiogenic drugs targeting vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors that have resulted in a significant improvement in clinical outcomes in a traditionally difficult-to-treat cancer. These new drugs, however, also have important side effects and toxicities that often have an impact on the treatment of these patients. The use of anti-angiogenic drugs often results in the development of hypertension and, less frequently, varying degrees of proteinuria including nephrotic range proteinuria. A variety of agents are used for the treatment of hypertension and proteinuria including blockers of the renin angiotensin system and calcium channel blockers, but there are no randomized clinical trials comparing different therapeutic agents in these patients. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have become one of the cornerstones of therapy in kidney cancer, but their use is linked to a variety of side effects that affect almost every organ and resemble autoimmune diseases. In the kidney, these drugs can induce acute interstitial nephritis in close to 5% of patients with varying degrees of severity that in some cases require discontinuation of treatment and systemic treatment with corticosteroids. Although mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors now also are part of the therapeutic armamentarium available for these patients, all clinical trials have been performed in patients with normal renal function and therefore their effects in patients with abnormal renal function are not known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Minority patients with hypertension generally require combination therapy to reach blood pressure (BP) goals. We examined the BP-lowering efficacy and safety of combination aliskiren/amlodipine therapy in self-identified minority patients in the United States with stage 2 hypertension and the impact of adding hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) to this combination. In this 8-week double-blind study, 412 patients were randomized to receive aliskiren/amlodipine (150/5 mg) or amlodipine (5 mg) with forced titration up to aliskiren/amlodipine/HCTZ (300/10/25 mg) or aliskiren/amlodipine (300/10 mg), respectively. Overall, mean age was 55.2 years, mean body mass index was 32 kg/m2, 62.3% were black, 28.2% were Hispanic/Latino, and 69.1% had metabolic syndrome. Mean sitting systolic blood pressure (MSSBP), the primary efficacy outcome, was reduced from 167.1 mm Hg at baseline to 130.7 mm Hg at week 8 with aliskiren/amlodipine/HCTZ and from 167.4 mm Hg to 137.9 mm Hg with aliskiren/amlodipine (P < .0001 between groups). At week 8, BP goal (<140/90 mm Hg) was achieved in 72.6% and 53.2% of patients in the two treatment groups, respectively (P < .0001). Adverse events were experienced by 34.2% and 40.2%, respectively. Combination aliskiren/amlodipine therapy was effective in treating these high-risk patients but inclusion of HCTZ provided greater antihypertensive efficacy. Both treatments were similarly well tolerated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

L-arginine is a semi essential amino acid and also a substrate for the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), polyamines, and agmatine. These L-arginine metabolites may participate in the pathogenesis of renal disease and constitute the rationale for manipulating L-arginine metabolism as a strategy to ameliorate kidney disease. Modification of dietary L-arginine intake in experimental models of kidney diseases has been shown to have both beneficial as well as deleterious effects depending on the specific model studied. L-arginine supplementation in animal models of glomerulonephritis has been shown to be detrimental, probably by increasing the production of NO from increased local expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS). L-arginine supplementation does not modify the course of renal disease in humans with chronic glomerular diseases. However, beneficial effects of L-arginine supplementation have been reported in several models of chronic kidney disease including renal ablation, ureteral obstruction, nephropathy secondary to diabetes, and salt-sensitive hypertension. L-arginine is reduced in pre- eclampsia and recent experimental studies indicate that L-arginine supplementation may be beneficial in attenu- ating the symptoms of preeclampsia. Administration of exogenous L-arginine has been shown to be protective in ischemic acute renal failure. In summary, the role of L-arginine in the pathogenesis and treatment of renal disease is not completely understood and remains to be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]