Importance and implications of exosomes in nephrology and urology.

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that are formed by two invaginations of the plasma membrane and can be released by all eukaryotic cells. Because of their bioactive contents, including nucleic acids and proteins, exosomes can activate a variety of functions in their recipient cells. Due to the plethora of physiological and pathophysiological functions, exosomes have received a lot of attention from researchers over the past few years. However, there is still no consensus regarding isolation and characterization protocols of exosomes and their subtypes. This heterogeneity poses a lot of methodical challenges but also offers new clinical opportunities simultaneously. So far, exosome-based research is still mostly limited to preclinical experiments and early-stage clinical trials since the translation of experimental findings remains difficult. Exosomes could potentially play an important role as future diagnostic and prognostic agents and might also be part of the development of new treatment strategies. Therefore, they have previously been investigated in a variety of nephrological and urological conditions such as acute kidney injury or prostate cancer.

International medical electives for medical students at a German university: a secondary analysis of longitudinal data.

BACKGROUND: International medical electives (IMEs) are entry points to global health opportunities. IME uptake at German universities is unclear. We analyse 14 y of IME. METHODS: Student registry data were collected. Univariate linear regression examined relationships between enrolment year and IMEs. RESULTS: The median (IQR) number of IMEs of all enrolment years was 54 (32-80) and 51 (38-67)% of all students took an IME. Enrolment year significantly predicted IME frequency and the proportion of students taking IMEs. CONCLUSIONS: Student interest in IMEs is increasing. Universities should invest more broadly in IME opportunities for student, faculty and university enrichment.