Oral alkalinizing supplementation suppressed intrarenal reactive oxidative stress in mild-stage chronic kidney disease: a randomized cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The beneficial effects of oral supplements with alkalinizing agents in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been limited to the severe stages. We investigated whether two types of supplements, sodium bicarbonate (SB) and potassium citrate/sodium citrate (PCSC), could maintain renal function in patients with mild-stage CKD. METHODS: This was a single-center, open-labeled, randomized cohort trial. Study participants with CKD stages G2, G3a, and G3b were enrolled between March 2013 and January 2019 and randomly assigned by stratification according to age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and diabetes. They were followed up for 6 months (short-term study) for the primary endpoints and extended to 2 years (long-term study) for the secondary endpoints. Supplementary doses were adjusted to achieve an early morning urinary pH of 6.8-7.2. We observed renal dysfunction or new-onset cerebrovascular disease and evaluated urinary surrogate markers for renal injury. RESULTS: Overall, 101 participants were registered and allocated to three groups: standard (n = 32), SB (n = 34), and PCSC (n = 35). Two patients in the standard group attained the primary endpoints (renal stones and overt proteinuria) but were not statistically significant. There was one patient in the standard reduced eGFR during the long-term study (p = 0.042 by ANOVA). SB increased proteinuria (p = 0.0139, baseline vs. 6 months), whereas PCSC significantly reduced proteinuria (p = 0.0061, baseline vs. 1 year, or p = 0.0186, vs. 2 years) and urinary excretion of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (p = 0.0481, baseline vs. 6 months). CONCLUSION: This study is the first to report supplementation of PCSC reduced intrarenal oxidative stress in patients with mild-stage CKD.

A massive natural disaster, the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the incidence of dialysis due to end-stage kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Disaster-related stress can increase blood pressure and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of massive disasters in the development of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) remains unknown. We investigated the incidence and different causes of dialysis initiation in patients with chronic kidney disease in a city affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective observational study. All patients who initiated or were treated with dialysis at Kesennuma City Hospital between 2007 and 2020 were enrolled. The year of dialysis initiation was retrospectively determined based on the initiation date. The causative renal diseases that led to the need for dialysis initiation were divided into four groups: diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive renal disease, glomerulonephritis, and others. RESULTS: Age at dialysis initiation differed significantly among the four groups (p = 0.0262). There was a significant difference in the numbers of the four groups before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake (p = 0.0193). The age of hypertensive renal disease patients was significantly higher than those of patients with diabetic nephropathy (p = 0.0070) and glomerulonephritis (p = 0.0386) after the disaster. The increasing number of dialysis initiations after the Great East Japan Earthquake appeared to be associated with changes in hypertensive renal diseases; the number peaked after 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: There was an increase in the number of dialysis initiations, especially caused by hypertensive renal diseases, for up to 10 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Somatic symptoms with psychogenic or psychiatric background: Characteristics and pitfalls.

INTRODUCTION: The characteristics of somatic symptoms seen at the first hospital visit in patients with psychogenic backgrounds remain poorly elucidated till date. METHODOLOGY: A total of 277 patients who visited the Department of General Medicine at a single university hospital with somatic symptoms were prospectively enrolled in this study. The eventual definite diagnoses were classified into the following three groups: non-psychogenic disease (n = 128), psychogenic symptoms (n = 131), and mental illness (n = 18). Subsequently, the chief complaints and other background information of the patient obtained at the first visit were compared among the three groups. RESULTS: More than half of the patient with non-psychogenic diseases (60.2%) presented with a single complaint at their first hospital visit; contrarily, less than half of the patients with psychogenic symptoms (23.7%) or mental illnesses (22.2%) presented with a single complaint at the first visit. Approximately, <10% of the patients with non-psychogenic diseases had four or more multisystemic presentations at the first visit. The results of the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed a fair discriminatory ability of the number of complaints to identify patients with psychogenic diseases or psychiatric backgrounds. Almost half of the non-psychogenic patients with four or more multisystemic presentations were eventually diagnosed with autoimmune-related disorders, such as Sjögren's syndrome or Behçet's disease. In conclusion, the general notion that patients with psychogenic somatic symptoms are likely to present with more complaints than patients with non-psychogenic diseases is correct. However, not a few patients who present with multiple indefinite complaints would certainly have organic diseases such as autoimmune-related disorders or neuromuscular diseases. A careful diagnostic process is required in such patients before attributing their symptoms to psychogenic or psychiatric factors.