Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0026764 (multiple myeloma)
 36,148 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This series of articles on the management of glomerulonephritis (GN) has been prepared by a team of experts in the evidence-based format consistent with peer review of published data. Each author was asked to review the literature for his assigned histological type, with emphasis on therapy and limited to adult studies. The age limit was not considered for minimal change disease and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, because of the high prevalence of these glomerulopathies in children. The particular treatment recommendations for each type of glomerular disease were graded by each author according to the amount of evidence provided in these reviewed studies. The first two articles concentrate on indications and techniques for kidney biopsy. Each subsequent article focuses on and describes the highest level of evidence supporting the recommendation for therapy in IgA nephropathy (Ig-GN), minimal change nephropathy (MCN) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN), lupus nephritis, ANCA-associated vasculitis, HCV-associated cryoglobulinaemia and renal involvement in paraproteinemic disorders. The article on IgA nephropathy emphasises the importance of carefully evaluating both clinical and histologic findings before settling on the treatment. The recent, renewed interest in steroids and many immunosuppressive agents is discussed in detail. Recommendations related to the patient's age are also provided. MCN and FSGS are treated together because these forms share similar evidence-based recommendations. For both of these diseases, in fact, the initial treatment approach in children should be prednisone or prednisolone for four to six weeks. The therapeutic response in adults is slower than in children, but adults experience fewer relapses and a more prolonged remission. There is also a discussion on treatment of relapse, frequent relapsing disease and true steroid-resistant disease as well as the role of new immunosuppressive agents. Membranous nephropathy is a frequent cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults and, in one third of these patients, leads to end-stage renal disease. However, the treatment of this form is as yet a matter of discussion. Based on extensive critical review of the literature, the following recommendations are put forward: (a) no treatment in the absence of nephrotic syndrome; (b) patients with heavy proteinuria should receive a 6-month treatment with i.v. methylprednisolone (MP) pulse therapy for three consecutive days followed by oral MP (0.4 mg/kg/day) (months 1, 3, 5) and chlorambucil or cyclophosphamide (months 2, 4, 6); (c) the dosage of chlorambucil or cyclophosphamide should be lowered in older patients; (d) cyclosporine is a second-choice treatment. The treatment of lupus nephritis depends on the histologic class. No specific treatment is usually necessary for class I and IIA. Oral steroids are indicated in patients with class IIb, proteinuria and active systemic disease. Steroids and azathioprine are the treatment of choice for patients with class III and IV, but cyclosporine can be an effective alternative therapy. Cyclophosphamide is more effective than azathioprine when severe acute renal involvement is present. The treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis depends mainly on clinical presentation, oral prednisone + oral or i.v. cyclophosphamide are generally effective. In the most severe cases, the association of MP pulse therapy with cyclophosphamide is probably more effective. Plasma exchange is probably justified in unresponsive patients. Azathioprine should replace cyclophosphamide during the maintenance therapy. In HCV-associated mixed cryoglobulinemia the treatment also depends on the severity of renal involvement. The treatment for chronic HCV infection involves alpha interferon alone or preferably in combination with ribavirin. Aggressive therapy, including i.v. MP, plasmapheresis and cyclophosphamide is primarily reserved for patients with acute severe disease, as manifested by progressive renal failure, distal necroses requiring amputation, or advanced neuropathy. Uncontrolled studies suggest that this regimen can improve renal function. Renal involvement is a common problem in paraproteinemic disorders that include multiple myeloma, Waldentrom's macroglobulinaemia and monoclonal gammopathy. The most common renal diseases in this setting are cast nephropathy, primary amyloidosis cast nephropathy, primary amyloidosis, and light chain deposition disease that are related to the overproduction of monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains. The approach to therapy varies with the cause of the renal dysfunction. Patients with amyloidosis or light-chain deposition disease are generally treated with chemotherapy, but the most effective therapy for myeloma kidney is prevention by minimising the risk factors that promote light chain filtration and subsequent obstruction by cast formation within the tubules. Chemotherapy or stem cell or bone marrow transplantation to decrease filtered light chain load, prevent volume depletion and maintain high fluid intake to reduce light chain concentration within the tubular lumen are indicated in almost all the patients.
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PMID:[Instructions and implementations for percutaneous renal biopsy. Guidelines for the therapy of glomerular nephropaties]. 1466 2

Three hundred fifteen (315) elderly (> or = 60 years) patients with clinical renal diseases were evaluated for the evidence of glomerular diseases between November 1998 to June 2002. Glomerular diseases (GN) were observed in 20.6% (65/315) of the elderly patients. The age of the patients (male 56; female 9) ranged between 60-90 (mean 64.17 +/- 3.83) years. The clinical presentation of GN included: nephrotic syndrome 40 (61.5%), acute nephritic syndrome 19 (29.2%), rapidly progressive GN 4 (6.15%) and asymptomatic urinary abnormality 2 (3.0%). Overall, primary and secondary glomerular disease were seen in 47 (72.3%) and 18 (27.6%) elderly patients respectively. Idiopathic membranous nephropathy was the most common GN responsible for nephrotic syndrome in 11 (27.5%) of elderly patients. Diabetic Nephropathy related to type 2 diabetes mellitus was the second common cause 9 (22.5%) of nephrotic syndrome. Amyloidosis was noted in 6 (15%) patients. Nephrotic syndrome was related to leprosy in one patient. Amyloidosis occurred in association with multiple myeloma in 5 and carcinoma colon in 1 patient. Thus, primary and secondary GN were responsible for nephrotic syndrome in 60% and 40% of cases respectively. Endocapillary proliferative GN of post infectious etiology was the most prevalent (82.6%) form of acute GN in our elderly patients. Hypertension occurred in 78.2% of cases and edema in 69.5%. Pulmonary congestion (52.2%) and ARF (73.9%) were the dominant presenting feature of acute GN and 39% of patients required dialytic support. Glomerular crescents were seen in 4 (17.4%) patients with acute glomerulonephritis. Pauci-immune crescentic GN which is the commonest type of acute GN in the elderly in western countries was not observed in this study. Renal biopsy revealed mesangiocapillary GN (1) and mesangioproliferative GN (1) in two patients with asymptomatic urinary abnormalities. Thus, overall spectrum of glomerular disease in the Indian elderly population is similar to that of developed countries except in two ways: (1) post infectious endocapillary proliferative-GN was the commonest type of acute GN (2) rarity or absence of pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis.
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PMID:Glomerular diseases in the elderly in India. 1507 10

We report here a case of a 58-year-old man who had nephrotic syndrome and immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis. This patient underwent a renal biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Treatment with permanganate before Congo red staining showed systemic secondary amyloidosis (AA) fibrils, which were sensitive to permanganate oxidation. Although this patient was initially diagnosed as having AA amyloidosis, he did not have any chronic inflammatory disease and/or malignancy. The level of amyloid A protein (7.9 microg/mL) in sera was within the normal range (0-8.0 microg/mL). Therefore, we performed an immunostaining of the precursor protein (amino terminus of constant region: kappa and lambda light chains, and AA protein) using duodenal biopsy specimens for a precise diagnosis. Immunostaining was positive for the amino terminus of constant region of the lambda light chain, and negative for the amino terminus of constant region of the kappa light chain and AA protein. No plasma cell proliferation in the bone marrow was observed. We finally diagnosed this patient as having primary AL amyloidosis. It appears that a pathological diagnosis must be performed by immunostaining the precursor proteins with the permanganate digestion technique in tissue of patients with amyloidosis. There were no abnormalities in serum and urine immunoelectrophoresis at the time of renal biopsy in this patient. During the follow-up period, after discharge, Bence Jones protein appeared in the urine, but not in the serum. It is necessary to observe patients with primary AL amyloidosis carefully to determine if they their condition will progress to multiple myeloma.
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PMID:A case of primary immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis with a delayed appearance of Bence Jones protein in urine. 1518 72

Renal involvement with amyloidosis is common but causes patient survival to be poor, rarely reaching 5 years. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed clinical and biological characteristics as well as treatments and outcomes of patients with renal amyloidosis followed for more than 5 years. Between 1975 and 2003, 485 patients were diagnosed with renal amyloidosis including only 12 patients who were followed more than 5 years. The six men and six women of mean age 42.4 years (range 18 to 66 years) displayed renal signs of lower limb edema in all cases; hypertension in four cases, proteinuria on urinalysis in all cases with microscopic hematuria in five cases. Biological tests showed nephrotic syndrome in 11 patients, normal renal function in nine patients, and renal failure in three patients whose mean creatinine was 481.6 micromol/L (range 294 to 726). The amyloidosis was AA type in 11 cases and non-AA in one case. An etiologic survey revealed spondylarthropathy in one patient, pulmonary tuberculosis in two patients, chronic bronchitis in three patients, hepatic hydatic cyst in one patient, Mediterranean familial fever in two patients, Crohn's disease in one patient, Hodgkin's lymphoma in one patient, and multiple myeloma in one patient. Specific treatment was initiated with colchicine in seven patients. At a 110-month mean follow-up (range 53 to 153 months), remission of nephrotic syndrome was observed in four cases, progression to chronic renal failure in two patients, and to end-stage renal failure in five cases (range 53 to 196 months), with stabilization of renal function in seven patients. In conclusion, primary amyloid disease should be optimally suppressed in patients with renal involvement. The role of this treatment in remission of renal amyloidosis is not well established. This efficacy of the treatment has been demonstrated in some patients with improved survival.
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PMID:Renal amyloidosis followed more than 5 years: report of 12 cases. 1535 Apr 80

Renal biopsy is a fundamental tool in the diagnosis and prognostic of multiple nephrological and systemic pathologies. At our institution the first patient submitted to this technique, at 1994, showed Berger disease. Until 2002 we have performed 91 renal biopsies (57 men and 34 women) with the following annual distribution: 1994 (n=3), 1995 (n=3), 1996 (n=3), 1997 (n=15), 1998 (n=5), 1999 (n=23), 2000 (n=13) and 2001 (n=26). Ultrasound guidance was always used and in most of cases the technique was performed with Vim-Silverman (14G) needle. BARD automatic system was employed in only five patients. The clinical diagnosis that lead to renal biopsy were: nephrotic syndrome (n=27), asyntomatic urinary abnormalities (n=25), acute or rapidly progressive renal failure (n=18), chronic renal failure (n=15), hypertension (n=4) and acute nephritis (n=2). The efficacy for optic histological diagnosis was 92.3% (84/91). However, if we include seven cases of presumed IgA nephropathy that don't included fragment for immunofluorescence (IF) analysis the efficacy declined to 84.6% (77/91). The mean number of glomeruli per fragment was 18.3 -/+ 14.2 [0-80]. Histological diagnosis were the following: Berger disease (n=24), idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (n=18), lupus nephritis (n=8), mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis without glomeruli in the IF fragment (n=6), without glomeruli (n=6), secondary nephrotic syndrome (n=4), tubulointerstitial nephritis or acute tubular necrosis (n=4), diabetic nephropathy (n=3), myeloma kidney (n=3), pauci-imune and crescentic glomerulonephritis (n=3), hypertensive nephropathy (n=2), IgM mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (n=2) and various (n=8). Gross hematuria appeared in 9 patients (9.9%). Only in three of these patients it was showed, by ecography, the existence of kidney haematoma. Bleeding throughout the mandrill in four cases, leaded to transfusion in only three patients. We have registered one accidental spleen puncture. Nephrectomy for incontrollable bleeding was never needed. Higher glomerulosclerosis (30% vs 8%; p<0.01) and also a greater extent of tubulointersticial lesions (100% vs 63%; p<0.01), were predictors of progression into end-stage or advanced renal failure. Concluding, renal biopsy with ultrasound guidance was valuable for diagnosis in 84.6% of our proceedings. Our serie is similar to others concerning serious complications. Nephrologists and radiologists improved progressively their coordination performing this technique, improving the results during this period of 8 years.
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PMID:[Percutaneous kidney biopsy: eight years-experience]. 1563 24

We report an unusual histologic manifestation of light chain deposition disease in a 69-year-old female patient, who presented with nephrotic syndrome and an increased serum creatinine. The renal biopsy findings by light and electron microscopy suggested a glomerulonephritis with massive immune-complex deposition, such as lupus nephritis. However, the overall clinical scenario was inconsistent with lupus. Subsequent tests revealed multiple myeloma confirmed by bone marrow biopsy and identification of a monoclonal kappa light chain immunoglobulin by serum and urine immunoelectrophoresis and immunofixation. Additional immunohistochemistry of the first biopsy also demonstrated strong kappa light chain staining of the glomerular capillary walls and mesangium but not lambda light chain or IgG staining. The patient responded well to therapy and was asymptomatic until nearly 7 years later. A repeat biopsy revealed similar findings to the first biopsy with the addition of immunofluorescence microscopy, which confirmed the prominent kappa light chain staining of the glomeruli, tubular basement membranes, and interstitium with corresponding electron-dense deposits visualized by electron microscopy. This case represents an unusual histologic variant of light chain deposition disease, which to our knowledge has not been previously described and further expands the wide clinicopathologic spectrum within the diagnostic entity of light chain deposition disease.
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PMID:Expanding the pathologic spectrum of light chain deposition disease: a rare variant with clinical follow-up of 7 years. 1569 20

We report strongyloides hyperinfection in two patients with generalized hypogammaglobulinemia from multiple myeloma and nephrotic syndrome, despite a significant strongyloides-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) response. In contrast to reports on animals, where human IgG was shown to be a protective antibody, our observation suggests that in humans, immunity to the infective-stage larvae is not protective against the autoinfective larvae, which are the causative agents of strongyloides hyperinfection.
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PMID:Strongyloides hyperinfection and hypogammaglobulinemia. 1587 34

Light chain deposition disease (LCDD) is a multisystemic disorder seen in the setting of plasma cell dyscrasias. The histological characteristic of this disorder is the deposition of a homogeneous, granular, slightly eosinophilic and non-Congophilic material that shows immunostaining for monoclonal light chains (kappa or gamma), while in primary amyloidosis (AL) the proteinaceous substance is fibrillar and Congo red positive. In contrast with AL, the light chain in LCDD is usually of the kappa-type. Renal involvement, resulting in nephrotic syndrome, is usually the prominent feature of LCDD. Patients with this disease may also have heart, liver or other organ involvement, mimicking the picture of primary systemic amyloidosis. However, liver failure has rarely been described in patients with LCDD. A patient with myeloma-associated LCDD who developed rapidly progressive liver kappa light chain deposition with fatal outcome after undergoing the first cycle of vincristine/doxorubicin/dexamethasone chemotherapy is reported.
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PMID:Development of rapidly progressive liver light chain deposition under VAD chemotherapy in multiple myeloma. 1634 76

Rising thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in patients being treated for primary hypothyroidism usually indicate poor compliance with thyroxine therapy. In rare instances, drugs or diseases affecting absorption of thyroxine or drugs that accelerate thyroxine metabolism can manifest in a similar fashion. Nephrotic syndrome is a rare cause of such a presentation though its presence can rapidly be suspected by dipstick urine testing. In this report we describe a patient with long-standing primary thyroid failure whose thyroxine dose requirements increased upon development of massive proteinuria. Biochemical testing and renal biopsy subsequently demonstrated nephrotic syndrome and amyloid deposition in association with myeloma. Dipstick urine testing should be considered in all hypothyroid patients with rising TSH levels, where good compliance with thyroxine therapy is likely.
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PMID:Increasing thyroxine requirements in primary hypothyroidism: don't forget the urinalysis! 1685 22

The non-secreting myeloma is a rare form of myeloma. Its association with a nephrotic syndrome is exceptional. The observation which we report below described the history of a 66 years old patient who presents a non-secreting myeloma revealed by a nephrotic syndrome. Various assumptions on the mechanism of no excretion were put forth. Nevertheless, several points are to be elucidated as for the pathogenesis of the association non-secreting myeloma and nephrotic syndrome.
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PMID:[Non-secreting myeloma associated with nephrotic syndrome]. 1704 Aug 80


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