Effects of sleep disordered breathing on functional capacity and quality of life in chronic kidney disease Egyptian patients.

PURPOSE: We assessed the prevalence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and investigated its effects on the muscle functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) among chronic kidney disease (CKD) Egyptian patients, either maintained or not maintained on hemodialysis (HD). METHODS: The study population comprised 100 CKD patients who were divided into patients maintained on HD (n = 60; M/F = 28:32) and patients not maintained on HD (n = 40; M/F = 24:16). Patients were observed overnight using the pulse-oximetry technique and further subdivided into patients with SDB and patients without SDB, according to their calculated oxygen desaturation index (cutoff 5). All patients were subjected also to estimation of Kt/V ratio (which is a measure for the efficiency of HD), body-composition analysis, biochemical analysis, muscle functional capacity, and QoL measurements using standard methods and questionnaires, respectively. RESULTS: Primary outcomes were intergroup differences regarding physical capacity and muscle performance, QoL, and body-composition measurements. CKD patients in general, either maintained on HD or not, suffer from SDB, and the levels of urea and creatinine may increase the incidence of SDB in CKD patients not maintained on HD. CKD patients maintained on HD with SDB had poorer functional capacity, physical performance, and muscle composition, in comparison with those without SDB. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, SDB appears to partly contribute to the total diminished functional capacity of HD patients. Thus, CKD patients maintained on HD with SDB had significantly lower sleep quality and QoL as compared to those not maintained on HD with or without SDB.

Changes in Mice Brain Spontaneous Electrical Activity during Cortical Spreading Depression due to Mobile Phone Radiation.

The objective of the present study was to investigate changes in spontaneous EEG activity during cortical spreading depression (CSD) in mice brain. The cortical region of anaesthetized mice were exposed to the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted from a mobile phone (MP, 935.2-960.2 MHz, 41.8 mW/cm(2)). The effect of EMFs on EEG was investigated before and after exposure to different stimuli (MP, 2% KCl, and MP & 2% KCl). The records of brain spontaneous EEG activity, slow potential changes (SPC), and spindle shaped firings were obtained through an interfaced computer. The results showed increases in the amplitude of evoked spindles by about 87%, 17%, and 226% for MP, 2% KCl, and MP & 2% KCl; respectively, as compared to values for the control group. These results showed that the evoked spindle is a more sensitive indicator of the effect of exposure to EMFs from MP.

Effects of Reactive Oxygen Species on in vitro Filtration of Water and Albumin across Glomerular Basement Membrane.

Most of the interest in the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) stems from the observation that it undergoes morphological changes in renal disease. Studies on persistent proteinuria in experimental animal models have shown that the permeability properties of the GBM have been altered as a result of protein degradation and cross-linking of type IV collagen via its NC1 domains promoted by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and extrusion of tubular cell contents. We used the in vitro ultrafiltration technique to assess permeability properties of bare isolated GBM films to water and albumin in the Munich Wistar Fromter rat model of glomerular injury. Hydraulic permeability for water and albumin solutions and albumin fractional clearances were measured for rats treated with lisinopril [an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor] and were compared with those measured for rats treated with dimethylthiouria (an ROS scavenger) and their control groups, at four pressure levels (50, 100, 200, and 300 mmHg). The ACE inhibitors and ROS scavengers treatment regimens for studied rats in addition to significantly lowering their systolic blood pressure and urinary protein excretion values to normal levels, have significantly increased their in vitro hydraulic and Darcy permeability, which is a measure of the intrinsic hydraulic conductance of the GBM, either in the absence or presence of albumin; in comparison with control animals. We believe that these favorable effects may derive from ROS scavenging beneficial effects that preserve the GBM protein structure by reducing entactin and laminin degradation and type IV collagen cross-linking.

Cortical Spreading Depression Elicited in Rat Brain after Exposure to Microwave from GSM Mobile Phone.

The aim of the present work is to evaluate possibility of microwave emitted by cellular phone that can elicit cortical spreading depression (CSD) in rat brain and studying the characteristics of the evoked signals. (CSD) was elicited in cerebral cortex of anesthetized rats after exposure to microwave irradiation (935.2-960.2 MHz) from Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) mobile phone. With the microwave output of about 8.5 mW at the antenna - tissue surface (4mm in diameter), CSD was elicited after 50 sec irradiation from the beginning of a received signal to the mobile and after 35 sec irradiation from the beginning of a transmitted signal from the mobile. CSD was elicited in about 90% of experiments after irradiation by both types of signal exposure. The results have shown that slow potential change (SPC) has an amplitude of 4.5 ± 0.75 mV, duration of 1.5 ± 0.5 min and propagated speed of 3 mm/min on the average. The amplitude, duration and behaviour of SPC of the evoked spreading depression were found to be affected by irradiation time and the method of exposure.