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The article aims to find potential biomarker for the detection of tubular damage in pediatric neurogenic bladder (NB) by investigating urinary levels of liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (uL-FABP). This prospective analysis was conducted on two groups: 42 children with NB and 18 healthy children. The uL-FABP concentrations were measured using ELISA methods. The medical charts of the children were examined to determine age, sex, anthropometric measurements, activity assessment using Hoffer's scale, and renal function parameters. The results revealed that the uL-FABP/creatinine ratio was higher in the study group compared with the reference group, but the difference was not statistically significant ( p = 0.52, p > 0.05). However, the uL-FABP/creatinine ratio exhibited a wider range in NB patients compared to the reference group. NB children with proteinuria and the history of high-grade vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) tended to have the highest uL-FABP concentrations. In conclusion, uL-FABP may be considered a potential tubular damage biomarker in children with NB. Proteinuria and the history of VUR may be the factors influencing the uL-FABP.

High fluid intake has been universally recommended for kidney stone prophylaxis. We evaluated 24-h urine osmolality regarded as the best biomarker of optimal hydration and upper metastable limit osmolality after water evaporation from urine sample to the onset of spontaneous crystallization and its usefulness as a new risk index that would describe an individual lithogenic potential. We collected 24-h urine from 257 pediatric patients with kidney stones and 270 controls. After volume and osmolality assessment, the urine samples were subjected to volume reduction in vacuum rotavapor continued to the onset of an induced urinary crystallization. The upper metastable limit osmolality of urine sample was calculated based on its initial osmolality value and the amount of water reduction. Pediatric stone formers presented with higher urine volume and lower urine osmolality than healthy controls. Despite that, their urine samples required much lower volume reduction to induce the spontaneous crystallization than those of controls. The ROC analysis revealed an AUC for the upper metastable limit osmolality of 0.9300 (95% CI 0.9104-0.9496) for distinguishing between stone formers and healthy subjects. At the cutoff of 2696 mOsm/kg, the test provided sensitivity and specificity of 0.8638 and 0.8189, respectively. 24-h urine osmolality provided the information about current hydration status, whereas evaporation test estimated the urinary potential to crystalize dependent on urine composition. Upper metastable limit osmolality may estimate the individual lithogenic capability and identify people at risk to stone formation when exposed to dehydration.

Aim: There is conflicting evidence about the role of obesity in paediatric nephrolithiasis. This Polish study explored the influence of nutritional status and lipid disturbances on urinary lithogenic factors and the risk of kidney stone formation in children and adolescents from three to 18 years of age., Methods: We carried out serum lipid profile evaluations and 24-h urine chemistry analyses on 493 overweight/obese paediatric participants (mean age 13 years) without nephrolithiasis and 492 healthy normal weight sex and age-matched controls., Results: A third (33%) of the study group had blood lipid disturbances, with more acidic urine, lower urinary citrate excretion and a higher fraction of ionised calcium and higher Bonn Risk Index than the controls. The participants' body mass index standard deviation score (BMI Z-score) was positively correlated with urinary oxalate and uric acid and negatively correlated with citrate excretion. Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides correlated negatively with citraturia, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol correlated positively., Conclusion: The main factor that predisposed overweight and obese children to kidney stones was hypocitraturia. Urinary citrate excretion was related to both BMI Z-scores and all lipid fraction abnormalities. However, hypercholesterolaemia and particularly low-density lipoprotein hypercholesterolaemia seemed to play a major role., (©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: There are indications that obesity and hyperuricemia may influence the formation and composition of urinary stones. The aim of our study was to determine the effect of obesity and hyperuricemia on the urinary lithogenic risk profile in a large cohort of pediatric patients., Methods: The study population comprised 478 children with urolithiasis and 517 healthy children (reference group). We studied the effects of obesity on the lithogenic profile by dividing the patients with urolithiasis into two groups based on body mass index Z-score (patients who were overweight/obese vs. those with normal weight for age) and comparing the two groups. To study the effect of hyperuricemia on the lithogenic profile, we divided the patients with urolithiasis into two groups based on the presence or not of hyperuricemia (110 patients with urolithiasis accompanied by hyperuricemia vs. 368 patients with urolithiasis and normal serum uric acid levels) and compared the groups., Results: Among the children and adolescents with urolithiasis and hyperuricemia, there was a significantly lower excretion of crystallization inhibitors (citrates, magnesium). We also found significantly negative correlations between serum uric acid levels and the urine citrate/creatinine ratio (citrate/cr.; r = -0.30, p < 0.01), as well as the magnesium/cr. ratio (Mg/cr.; r = -0.33, p < 0.01). There was no statistically significant differences in the urinary excretion of oxalates, citrates, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and uric acid between children with urolithiasis who were either overweight or obese and children with urolithiasis who had a normal body weight., Conclusions: In our pediatric patient cohort, hyperuricemia was associated with a decrease in the excretion of crystallization inhibitors in the urine, but the clinical relevance of this observation needs to be confirmed in future studies. Obesity and overweight had no direct influence on the lithogenic risk profile in the urinary stone formers in our study, but there was an indication that higher serum uric acid may be associated with impairment in renal function, which in turn could influence the excretion of lithogenic parameters.

Background: Hypocitraturia is considered a major risk factor for calcium stone formation. However, there is no widely accepted reference database of urinary citrate excretion in children. The aim of our study was to determine the amount of citrate eliminated in the urine over a 24-h period in a pediatric cohort and to determine an optimal unit reflecting excretion., Methods: The study cohort comprised 2,334 healthy boys and girls aged 2-18 years. The levels of urinary citrate were assessed by an enzymatic method in 24-hour urine and expressed in absolute values, as urinary concentration, citrate/creatinine ratio, per kilogram of body weight, in relation to 1.73 m2, and as the calcium/citrate index., Results: Similar incremental age-related citraturia rates were observed in both male and female subjects until puberty during which time citrate excretion became significantly higher in girls. Urinary citrate adjusted for creatinine and for body weight showed a significantly decreasing trend with increasing age in both sexes. Urinary citrate corrected for body surface was weakly correlated with age. Thus, the assumption of 180 mg/1.73 m2/24 h for males and 250 mg/1.73 m2/24 h for females as lower cut-off values appeared to be reliable from a practical perspective., Conclusions: We found distinct sex-dependent differences in citraturia at the start of puberty, with significantly higher values of urinary citrate in girls than in boys. Further prospective studies are warranted to elucidate whether this difference represents a differentiated risk of urolithiasis.

Objective: To determine kidney stone composition in children and to correlate stone fractions with urinary pH and metabolic urinary risk factors., Patients and Methods: We studied 135 pediatric patients with upper urinary tract lithiasis in whom excreted or extracted stones were available for analyses. Composition of stones was analyzed. A 24-hour urine assessment included volume, pH and daily excretions of calcium, oxalate, uric acid, cystine, creatinine, phosphate, magnesium and citrate., Results: Calcium oxalate was the major component of 73% stones, followed by struvite (13%) and calcium phosphate (9%). Uric acid was present in almost half of stones, but in rudimentary amounts. The calcium oxalate content in calculi showed a strong relationship with calciuria, and moderate association with oxaluria, magnesuria and acidification of urine. The percent content of struvite presented reverse and lower correlations with regard to the above parameters. Calcium phosphate stone proportion had low associations with urinary risk factors., Conclusions: Calciuria, oxaluria, magnesuria and low urine pH exerted the biggest influence on calcium oxalate content in pediatric renal stones. Relationships of urinary risk factors with calculi calcium phosphate content were of unclear significance. Urinary citrate excretion did not significantly correlate with kidney stone composition in children., (Copyright © 2013 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hypercalciuria and hypocitraturia are considered the most important risk factors for urolithiasis. Citrate binds to urinary calcium to form a soluble complex which decreases the availability of ionized calcium (Ca(2+)) necessary for calcium oxalate formation and phosphate crystallization. The aims of this study were to assess the Ca(2+) fraction in relation to total calciuria, citraturia and urinary pH and to determine whether urinary Ca(2+) concentration is a helpful biomarker in metabolic evaluation of children with urolithiasis., Methods: We collected 24-h urine samples from 123 stone-forming children and adolescents with hypocitraturia and from 424 healthy controls. Total calciuria (total calcium, Catotal), Ca(2+), pH, citrate, oxalate and Bonn Risk Index (BRI) were assessed and compared between the two groups., Results: Total calciuria and Ca(2+) content were higher in stone-formers than in the healthy children. In both stone-formers and controls, Ca(2+) content was inversely related to citraturia and urinary pH, whereas the Ca(2+)/Catotal ratio differed slightly between the groups. A large variability in Ca(2+) level was found across individuals in both groups. The BRI increased with increasing calciuria and urine acidity., Conclusions: Compared to controls, stone-formers with hypocitraturia demonstrated a higher urinary Ca(2+) concentration, but this was proportional to calciuria. The large individual variability in urinary Ca(2+) content limits its practical use in metabolic evaluation of children with urolithiasis. However, the Ca/Citrate ratio may be a useful clinical tool in evaluating children with urolithiasis.

Purpose: The Bonn Risk Index has been used to evaluate the risk of urinary calcium oxalate stone formation. According to the original method, risk should be determined based on 24-hour urine collection. We studied whether the Bonn Risk Index could be measured in spot urine samples and which part of the day is most suitable for this purpose., Materials and Methods: We collected total and fractionated 24-hour urine (in a 6-hour nocturnal portion and 9 consecutive 2-hour diurnal samples) in 42 children and adolescents with calcium oxalate urolithiasis and 46 controls. Bonn Risk Index values determined from each of the urine fractions were compared to those obtained from related 24-hour urine collections., Results: Both groups exhibited similar circadian patterns of Bonn Risk Index values. Median Bonn Risk Index for the nighttime portion of urine in the stone group was 1.4 times higher than that obtained from the total 24-hour urine. The morning hours between 08:00 and 10:00 showed the peak lithogenic risk, and this fraction had the highest sensitivity and selectivity regarding discrimination between stone formers and healthy subjects. The afternoon hours demonstrated lower and less fluctuating crystallization risk. Despite diurnal fluctuations in Bonn Risk Index, there was still a well-defined cutoff between the groups., Conclusions: Bonn Risk Index determined from urine samples collected between 08:00 and 10:00 appears optimal in separating stone formers from healthy subjects, and appears as useful as the value determined from 24-hour urine collection. Investigation of this diurnal sample simplifies diagnosis in pediatric stone disease without loss of clinical information., (Copyright © 2010 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The Bonn Risk Index has been used to evaluate the risk of urinary calcium oxalate stone formation. According to the original method, risk should be determined based on a 200 ml urine sample taken from a 24-hour collection. We evaluated whether the Bonn Risk Index can also be effectively determined in small urine samples., Materials and Methods: We studied 190 children and adolescents with nocturia and calcium oxalate urolithiasis. Initially Bonn Risk Index was determined according to the original method of Laube. Subsequently Bonn Risk Index was calculated using a computer program controlling a specially designed system to define the time point of induced crystallization based on consecutive urine samples of 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 ml., Results: No significant differences were found in Bonn Risk Index between values obtained from 200 ml samples and those based on the micromethod with urine samples of 2 and 3 ml., Conclusions: Assessment of risk of urinary calcium oxalate stone formation with Bonn Risk Index in small urine volumes, based on prototype equipment controlled by specialized computer software, is comparable to the original method. This finding facilitates the procedure and improves Bonn Risk Index determination in children., (2010 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Idiopathic hypercalciuria is the most important predisposing risk factor for calcium oxalate (CaOx) renal stone formation. We assessed the associations between spontaneous CaOx crystallization based on the Bonn Risk Index (BRI), urinary pH, calciuria, oxaluria, and citraturia in 140 Caucasian patients with hypercalciuria, aged 4-17 years, and compared the findings with those in 210 normocalciuric controls. Of the 140 hypercalciuric patients, 58 had renal stones, and 82 had recurrent erythrocyturia, renal colic, or urinary obstructive symptoms-but without stones. Urinary ionized calcium ([Ca(2+)]) levels were measured using a selective electrode, while the onset of crystallization was determined using a photometer and titration with 40 mmol/L ammonium oxalate (Ox(2-)). The calculation of the BRI was based on the [Ca(2+)]:Ox(2-) ratio. The BRI values were 12-fold higher in hypercalciuric children than in healthy controls, but no differences were found in the BRI between subjects with urinary stones and those with urolithiasis-like symptoms. An increased BRI suggested an association with hypercalciuria, lower urinary pH, hypocitraturia, and hypooxaluria. These data indicate that hypercalciuria is an important factor associated with increased urinary CaOx crystallization, although the causal pathways need further investigation. Determination of the BRI in children with hypercalciuria may improve the risk assessment of kidney stones.

Objectives: Ovarian cysts are frequently find in fetuses and neonates. The optimal management of neonatal simple ovarian cysts is still a matter of discussion., Materials: Authors present four cases of neonatal ovarian cysts treated in Pediatric Surgery Clinic of Medical Academy in Bialystok in the period of 2002-2003. Three girls were managed conservatively--they are still in outpatient care. One girl was managed surgically., Conclusions: The main aim of treatment is to preserve the ovary. Uncomplicated prenatal ovarian cysts should be treated depending on size and echographic patterns at birth.

Degree of renal damage in experimental untreated and treated hemorrhagic shock was estimated in light microscopy. Histological preparations were scored with a semiquantitative scale concerning the changes which are typical for the acute renal failure. It was found that an early treatment with the PAF-receptor antagonist (ginkgolide BN 52021) considerably reduced morphological changes observed in rat kidney in hemorrhagic shock, comparing with untreated shock and in shock treated with a polyelectrolyte solution.

Renal damage in rat hemorrhagic shock model was assessed by estimation of the reactive oxygen metabolites generation (malondialdehyde measured as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and antioxidative potential (activity of Cu-, Zn- superoxide dismutase, activity of glutathione reductase and level of sulfhydryl compounds). It was found that treatment with BN 52021 (a platelet-activating factor antagonist), and polyelektrolyte solution had had a beneficial effect in comparison with both the untreated shock and shock treated by reperfusion only.

An evaluation of frequency and intensity of the megakaryocytic emperipolesis in the rat bone marrow after unilateral carotid artery occlusion was performed. The results were compared with those obtained in the group undergoing a blood loss and the group not subjected to surgical procedures. A significant increase in the frequency of emperipolesis was found in the bled rats following a carotid artery cannulation, but also in animals exposed to the carotid artery occlusion only. In most cases the cytoplasm of megakaryocytes contained granulocytes and erythroblasts. The observed emperipolesis phenomenon is likely to be a result of brain hypoxia and a secondary neurogenic stimulation of the bone marrow activity.