Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive condition that affects more than 10% of the population worldwide, accounting for more than 843 million (M) individuals. The prevalence of CKD (844 M patients) is higher than that of diabetes mellitus (422 M patients), cancer (42 M patients), and HIV (37 M patients), but people are often less aware of it. Global expert groups predict reductions in the nephrology workforce in the next decade, with a declining interest in nephrology careers. Over time, KDIGO guidelines have also focused on topics related to the prevention or management of CKD patients in real-life settings. On these premises, a new educational program with international experts in the field of nephrology took place from November 2022 until March 2023 in Milan, Italy. This multinational masterclass provided an educational platform providing unbiased education on diagnosis and treatment by sharing the most recent research data on CKD and comorbidities, therefore creating a snowball effect to increase the implementation of best practices worldwide, using examples from ‘real-life’ patient outcomes. This paper provides an overview of the International Nephrology Masterclass (INM) concept, summarizing the key lectures and discussions, and giving an outline of future key developments.

The levels of antibodies to cardiolipin and 2-glycoprotein I and polymorphic variants G1691A of Factor V (factor V Leiden, FVL) and G20210A of prothrombin gene (G20210A) were studied in 16 patients with upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis (UEDVT). Most of patients with this syndrome have elevated values of these antibodies. Two of these patients are heterozygous carriers for G20210A and 1 – for FVL. Three patients with UEDVT and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are positive for ANA and two others (one of them with Raynaud syndrome) have border line titre 1 : 80 for ANA. All 3 patients with SLE are women and the interval between the development of the UEDVT and the onset of SLE was 1-4 years. We would like to suggest that: 1) UEDVT could be the first clinical symptom of Antiphospholipid syndrome, and 2) UEDVT may be the first clinical manifestation of SLE preceding the development of the systemic autoimmune disease by several years.

Cocaine is a natural alkaloid extracted from the leaves of the South American plant Erythroxylum coca or synthesized chemically. After cannabis, it is the second most frequently abused recreational substance worldwide. Cocaine can affect every tissue and organ within the human body, including the kidneys, causing tissue ischemia due to vasoconstriction, endothelial dysfunction and damage, procoagulant activity and oxidative stress with subsequent ischemic infarctions and fibrosis. The renal changes in cocaine abuse and addiction are due to rhabdomyolysis, ischemic, hypertensive, and inflammatory changes with the development of cell proliferation and fibrosis. The authors present three patients with cocaine-associated renal damage and discuss the underlying mechanisms of cocaine-induces tissue changes.

Thromboembolism in Renal Diseases | InTechOpen, Published on: 2017-06-21. Authors: Milena Nikolova‐Vlahova, Marta Petrova Baleva and Petar Krasimirov Nikolov

In December 2019 a newly described single-stranded coronavirus, later named SARS-CoV-2, started its expansion around the world and subsequently caused a global pandemic, affecting the lives of millions of people worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 can bind multiple receptors on different cells and thus invade many target organs, including the respiratory and gastrointestinal mucous membranes, lungs, central nervous system, heart, etc. This virus can affect the kidney tissue both directly and as a consequence of other organ involvement or of the treatment administered, causing acute kidney injury and leaving long term squeals that worsen the prognosis. We describe three patients with acute kidney injury and subsequent acute renal failure at the background of coronaviral infection.