Primary stenting for renal fibromuscular-dysplastic stenosis: a case report.

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a non-inflammatory, non-atherosclerotic vascular disease that has been reported in renal and internal carotid arteries and in almost every arterial bed, primarily affecting young to middle-aged people, mainly female individuals. These patients may be asymptomatic or may present with hypertension. A 29 year-old hypertensive woman was referred for a renal color Doppler ultrasound (CDU) scan because of a suspicion of renovascular hypertension and we revealed the presence of three separate stenosis on the right renal artery. Digital selective angiography (DSA) and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) were performed but an incomplete dilation of the vessel was obtained. Because of the suboptimal result, it was decided to stent the lesions during two different procedures. Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty is the primary treatment of renal FMD, but should not be excluded primary stent implantation as an alternative technique to surgical revascularization.

A simultaneous occurrence of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome and fibrillary glomerulonephritis: a case report.

Fibrillary glomerulonephritis (FibGN) is a rare cause of progressive renal dysfunction, often leading to dialysis within a few years. A 60-year-old woman presented with a 2 month history of right-sided retro-orbital pain and recent diplopia. Laboratory testing revealed an altered renal function with increased serum creatinine and mild proteinuria. MRI of the brain revealed the presence of a soft tissue mass on the right cavernous sinus compatible with the diagnosis of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS). Renal biopsy showed a pattern compatible with fibrillary glomerulonephritis. For this reason steroid therapy was initiated at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day and adjusted according to the clinical course. Neurological symptoms regressed shortly after the beginning of therapy and renal function and proteinuria remained stable for the 3 years following the withdrawal of steroid therapy. Percutaneous renal biopsy was again performed and confirmed the previous diagnosis of FibGN in association with other glomerular-lesion-like mesangial widening, thickening of capillary walls and severe arterio-arteriolosclerosis. This case report describes what is believed to first report of the association of FibGN and THS, which both responded to steroid therapy.

A protein interaction map of Drosophila melanogaster.

Drosophila melanogaster is a proven model system for many aspects of human biology. Here we present a two-hybrid-based protein-interaction map of the fly proteome. A total of 10,623 predicted transcripts were isolated and screened against standard and normalized complementary DNA libraries to produce a draft map of 7048 proteins and 20,405 interactions. A computational method of rating two-hybrid interaction confidence was developed to refine this draft map to a higher confidence map of 4679 proteins and 4780 interactions. Statistical modeling of the network showed two levels of organization: a short-range organization, presumably corresponding to multiprotein complexes, and a more global organization, presumably corresponding to intercomplex connections. The network recapitulated known pathways, extended pathways, and uncovered previously unknown pathway components. This map serves as a starting point for a systems biology modeling of multicellular organisms, including humans.