Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-β1) is regarded as the important factor in many fibrotic kidney diseases. Autophagy is a vital mechanism which maintains intracellular homeostasis in eukaryotic cells and involves in various renal physiologic and pathological processes. Current studies indicate that autophagy in renal tubular epithelial cells serves as a renoprotective mechanism which modulates the course of diverse kidney disease....

Fifty years after the creation of the first arteriovenous access, little is known about the deleterious cardiac effects of this pathological circuit. Understanding the pathophysiology of Access Based Cardiac Disease (ABCD) is critical, given the fact that cardiac abnormalities are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in end stage kidney disease patients on dialysis. However, this has been a challenge, as many of hemodialysis patients have preexisting cardiac disease, they invariably have...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a medical emergency. It refers to a heterogeneous disorder characterized by an abrupt and usually reversible decrease in kidney function, resulting in the retention of nitrogenous waste products and in the dysregulation of extracellular volume and electrolytes. Its incidence is on the rise in both developed and developing countries, with the condition resulting in high morbi-mortality and economic burden. To determine the average total cost in the management of acute...