Renal Ptosis: Case Literature Review

We report a fortuitously discovered case of renal ptosis in a 9-year-old girl. We take this opportunity to review literature on the embryological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of this malformation, which is the most common renal ectopia diagnosed in sub-Saharan Africa. KEY WORDS: Kidney, Ptosis, Nephroptosis.

Profiling the urinary microbiome in men with calcium-based kidney stones

Background The dogma that urine is sterile in healthy individuals has been overturned by recent studies applying molecular-based methods. Mounting evidences indicate that dysbiosis of the urinary microbiota is associated with several urological diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the urinary microbiome of male patients with calcium-based kidney stones and compare it with those of healthy individuals. Results The diversity of the urinary microbiota in kidney stone patients was significantly lower than that of healthy controls based on the Shannon and Simpson index (P<0.001 for both indices). The urinary microbiota structure also significantly differed between kidney stone patients and healthy controls (ANOSIM, R = 0.11, P <0.001). Differential representation of inflammation associated bacteria (e.g., Acinetobacter) and several enriched functional pathways were identified in the urine of kidney stones patients. Meanwhile, we found the species diversity, overall composition of microbiota and predicted functional pathways were similar between bladder urine and renal pelvis urine in kidney stone patients. Conclusions A marked dysbiosis of urinary microbiota in male patients with calcium-based kidney stones was observed, which may be helpful to interpret the association between bacteria and calcium-based kidney stones. Key Words: kidney stone, calcium-based, microbiome, urine, renal pelvis

Examining Public Communication About Kidney Cancer on Twitter

PURPOSE Several studies have described the content of Twitter conversations about lung, breast, and prostate cancer, but little is known about how the public uses Twitter to discuss kidney cancer. We sought to characterize the content of conversations on Twitter about kidney cancer and the participants engaged in these dialogues. METHODS This qualitative study analyzed the content of 2,097 tweets that contained the key words kidney cancer from August 1 to 22, 2017. Tweets were categorized by content domain of conversations related to kidney cancer on Twitter and user types of participants in these dialogues. RESULTS Among the 2,097 kidney cancer–related tweets analyzed, 858 (41.4%) were authored by individuals, 865 (41.2%) by organizations, and 364 (17.4%) by media sites. The most common content discussed was support (29.3%) and treatment (26.5%). Among the 2,097 tweets, 825 were unique tweets, and 1,272 were retweets. The most common unique tweets were about clinical trials (23.9%), most often authored by media sites. The most common retweets were about treatment (38.5%), most often authored by organizations. CONCLUSION Twitter dialogues about kidney cancer are most commonly related to support and treatment. Our findings provide insights that may inform the design of new interventions that use social media as a tool to improve communication of kidney cancer information. Additional efforts are needed to improve our understanding of the value and direct utility of social media in improving kidney cancer care.

Detection of Bacterial Kidney Disease in Wild Salmonids in the Margaree River System and Adjacent Waters Using an Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Technique

The indirect fluorescent antibody technique demonstrated the enzootic nature of bacterial kidney disease in 224 of the 605 wild salmonids sampled from the Margaree River system and some adjacent waters. Asymptomatic infections were observed in 33.4% of 456 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr and 35.1% of 37 returning adults in samples taken from the source of the Margaree River to and including saltwater areas off the coast. Key words: kidney disease, Atlantic salmon, wild, distribution, fluorescent antibody

A Culture Technique Using Marine Fish Kidney to Obtain Chromosomes

A relatively simple and reliable in vitro method for marine fish chromosome study was developed. The addition of 10% chick embryo extract to serum-supplemented Eagle's minimum essential medium with high concentration of NaCl resulted in marked growth of kidney cells in the marine conger eel (Astroconger myriaster) after activation by phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Culture medium without chick embryo extract or PHA and/or with normal concentration of NaCl did not induce substantial growth. In contrast to reports by others, humidified culture was not required for excellent cell growth of these teleost kidney cells. Numerous metaphases unmarred by overlapping chromosomes were recovered and excellent karyograms were available for detailed karyotype analysis. Key words: kidney, culture, marine fish, chromosome