Integrating traditional Chinese medicine in managing neutropenic fever during chemotherapy for pediatric lymphoma: A case report.

Background: Neutropenic fever (NF) is a critical complication in pediatric oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy. While Western medicine provides standardized management, the role of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as an adjunctive therapy in pediatric cases remains underexplored.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 14-year-old female diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who developed persistent NF following chemotherapy.

Use of iodinated and gadolinium-based contrast media in patients with chronic kidney disease: Consensus statements from nephrologists, cardiologists, and radiologists at National Taiwan University Hospital.

Contrast media are essential agents that enhance the diagnostic capabilities of imaging studies, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. However, concerns regarding the risk of adverse events have led to cautious use in patients with chronic kidney disease. A multidisciplinary review by nephrologists, cardiologists, and radiologists at National Taiwan University Hospital examined evidence linking iodinated contrast media and gadolinium-based contrast agents with acute kidney injury and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.

Serum Methotrexate Level Predicts Acute Kidney Injury After High-Dose Methotrexate: A Case Report and Single-Center Experience.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious complication following high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) treatment, despite established preventive measures. This study presents a case report and a retrospective review of patients treated with HD-MTX, aiming to identify risk factors for AKI and propose a modified treatment protocol.

Methods: We report a case of a 43-year-old man with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who developed severe AKI after HD-MTX therapy.

Biomarkers in pursuit of precision medicine for acute kidney injury: hard to get rid of customs.

Traditional acute kidney injury (AKI) classifications, which are centered around semi-anatomical lines, can no longer capture the complexity of AKI. By employing strategies to identify predictive and prognostic enrichment targets, experts could gain a deeper comprehension of AKI's pathophysiology, allowing for the development of treatment-specific targets and enhancing individualized care. Subphenotyping, which is enriched with AKI biomarkers, holds insights into distinct risk profiles and tailored treatment strategies that redefine AKI and contribute to improved clinical management.

The effects of double-filtration plasmapheresis on coagulation profiles and the risk of bleeding.

Background/purpose: Double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) can be used to remove circulating pathogenic molecules. By reclaiming filtered albumin, DFPP reduces the need for albumin and plasma replacement. Large proteins, such as fibrinogen, are removed.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With a Drug-Eluting Stent Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Patients Receiving Dialysis: A National Study From Taiwan.

Rationale & Objective: We aimed to study the comparative effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stent and coronary artery bypass grafting in patients receiving dialysis.

Study Design: This was a retrospective observational cohort study.

Setting & Participants: This population-based study identified patients receiving dialysis hospitalized for coronary revascularization between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2015, in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Update of pericytes function and their roles in kidney diseases.

Studies have highlighted the significant involvement of kidney pericytes in renal fibrosis. Kidney pericytes, classified as interstitial mesenchymal cells, are extensively branched, collagen-producing cells that closely interact with endothelial cells. This article aims to provide an overview of the recent advancements in understanding the physiological functions of pericytes and their roles in kidney diseases.

Extremely Low Dose of Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent May Be Associated with Increased Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients.

Introduction: Although high-dose erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) has been shown to increase mortality risk and adverse cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients, the safety of extremely low-dose ESA is unclear.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the association between ESA dose and mortality in the monthly dosing range of 0-43,000 U of equivalent epoetin alfa in 304 Taiwan hemodialysis patients by using Cox proportional hazard model and cubic spline model.

Results: Compared with mean monthly ESA dose of 15,000-25,000 U (mean ± standard deviation 20,609 ± 2,662 U), monthly ESA dose of less than 15,000 U (mean ± standard deviation 7,413 ± 4,510 U) is associated with increased mortality.

Pleotropic effects of hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase domain inhibitors: are they clinically relevant?

Anemia is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is mainly caused by insufficient production of erythropoietin from fibrotic kidney. Because anemia impairs quality of life and overall prognosis, recombinant human erythropoietin-related products (erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, ESAs) have been developed to increase hemoglobin level for decades. However, many safety concerns have been announced regarding the use of ESAs, including an increased occurrence of cardiovascular events, vascular access thrombosis, cancer progression, and recurrence.

Humoral antibody response to the first dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in Asian patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Background And Objectives: The immunogenicity of vaccines is known to be attenuated in patients with end-stage kidney disease due to uremia. Patients on dialysis were excluded from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine trials; thus, the effectiveness of vaccines for this population is unclear. The aim of this study was to explore whether Asian dialysis patients can effectively produce an immune response after being vaccinated with the first dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine.

Transforming growth factor-β1 decreases erythropoietin production through repressing hypoxia-inducible factor 2α in erythropoietin-producing cells.

Background: Renal erythropoietin (EPO)-producing (REP) cells produce EPO through hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 2α-activated gene transcription. Insufficient EPO production leads to anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease. Although recombinant EPO is effective to improve anemia, no reliable REP cell lines limit further progress of research and development of novel treatment.

Kidney pericyte hypoxia-inducible factor regulates erythropoiesis but not kidney fibrosis.

Prolyl hydroxylase domain enzyme (PHD) inhibitors are effective in the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD)-associated anemia by stabilizing hypoxia inducible factor (HIF), thereby increasing erythropoietin and consequently erythropoiesis. However, concern for CKD progression needs to be addressed in clinical trials. Although pre-clinical studies showed an anti-inflammatory effect in kidney disease models, the effect of PHD inhibitors on kidney fibrosis was inconsistent probably because the effects of HIF are cell type and context dependent.

Targeting fibroblast CD248 attenuates CCL17-expressing macrophages and tissue fibrosis.

The role of fibroblasts in tissue fibrosis has been extensively studied. Activated fibroblasts, namely myofibroblasts, produce pathological extracellular matrix. CD248, a type I transmembrane glycoprotein, is expressed in fibroblasts after birth.

Methylation in pericytes after acute injury promotes chronic kidney disease.

The origin and fate of renal myofibroblasts is not clear after acute kidney injury (AKI). Here, we demonstrate that myofibroblasts were activated from quiescent pericytes (qPericytes) and the cell numbers increased after ischemia/reperfusion injury-induced AKI (IRI-AKI). Myofibroblasts underwent apoptosis during renal recovery but one-fifth of them survived in the recovered kidneys on day 28 after IRI-AKI and their cell numbers increased again after day 56.

Observation of 990-MHz Optical Oscillation From Light Emitters Excited by High-Order Harmonics of Surface Acoustic Waves.

Optomechanical properties have been widely explored on the interactions between phonon, photon, and electrons. The applications range from acoustic filters for mobile handsets to quantum information science./However, up to date, the interaction between harmonic modes of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and photons has not been studied in detail.

The journey from erythropoietin to 2019 Nobel Prize: Focus on hypoxia-inducible factors in the kidney.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe, and Gregg L.

Plasma Leucine-Rich α-2-Glycoprotein 1 Predicts Cardiovascular Disease Risk in End-Stage Renal Disease.

Plasma leucine-Rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) is an innovative biomarker for inflammation and angiogenesis. Many adverse pathophysiological changes including inflammation, atherosclerosis, and premature mortality is associated with End-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, whether levels of plasma LRG1 correlate with the co-morbidities of ESRD patients is unknown.

Inflammatory macrophages switch to CCL17-expressing phenotype and promote peritoneal fibrosis.

Peritoneal fibrosis remains a problem in kidney failure patients treated with peritoneal dialysis. Severe peritoneal fibrosis with encapsulation or encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis is devastating and life-threatening. Although submesothelial fibroblasts as the major precursor of scar-producing myofibroblasts in animal models and M2 macrophage (Mϕ)-derived chemokines in peritoneal effluents of patients before diagnosis of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis have been identified, attenuation of peritoneal fibrosis is an unmet medical need partly because the mechanism for cross talk between Mϕs and fibroblasts remains unclear.

Rejuvenation: Turning back the clock of aging kidney.

Aging is inevitable in life. It is defined as impaired adaptive capacity to environmental or internal stresses with growing rates of disease and death. Aging is also an important risk factor for various kidney diseases such as acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease.

A comprehensive characterization of aggravated aging-related changes in T lymphocytes and monocytes in end-stage renal disease: the iESRD study.

Background: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) exhibit a premature aging phenotype of the immune system. Nevertheless, the etiology and impact of these changes in ESRD patients remain unknown.

Results: Compared to healthy individuals, ESRD patients exhibit accelerated immunosenescence in both T cell and monocyte compartments, characterized by a dramatic reduction in naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T cell numbers but increase in CD8+ T cell and proinflammatory monocyte numbers.