Acute renal failure is defined as a rapid decrease in the glomerular filtration rate, occurring over a period of minutes to days. Because the rate of production of metabolic waste exceeds the rate of renal excretion in this circumstance, serum concentrations of markers of renal function, such as urea and creatinine, rise. The causes of acute renal failure are classically divided into three categories: prerenal, postrenal (or obstructive), and intrinsic. Prerenal azotemia is considered a functional response to renal hypoperfusion, in which renal structure and microstructure are preserved. Postrenal azotemia — obstruction of the urinary tract — is initially accompanied . . . Join discussion...

Variants of FLJ10986 may confer susceptibility to sporadic ALS. FLJ10986 and 50 other candidate loci warrant further investigation for their potential role in conferring susceptibility to the disease. Join discussion...

Long-term total mortality after gastric bypass surgery was significantly reduced, particularly deaths from diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. However, the rate of death from causes other than disease was higher in the surgery group than in the control group. Join discussion...

Hypertension and prehypertension were frequently undiagnosed in this pediatric population. Patient age, height, obesity-related diagnoses, and magnitude and frequency of abnormal blood pressure readings all increased the odds of diagnosis. Join discussion...

In this sample of highly prominent claims of sex-related differences in genetic associations, most claims were insufficiently documented or spurious, and claims with documented good internal and external validity were uncommon. Join discussion...

This study elucidates several important provider-level determinants of PSA screening misuse and substantiates that PSA screening is frequently performed counter to evidence-based guidelines. Further work is needed to determine the degree to which "prostatempathy" contributes to PSA misuse by older male providers. Join discussion...

eenagers who do not get enough of the nutrients commonly found in fruits and fish are more prone to underperforming lungs, asthma, coughing and wheezing, researchers reported on Monday. They found that teens with the lowest intake of fruit and especially vitamin C had weaker lungs compared to the others. Teens who ate less vitamin E, found in vegetable oil and nuts, were more likely to have asthma, Jane Burns and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health found. Based on these findings, Join discussion...

More families could be affected by the removal, apparently without consent, of body parts from nuclear plant workers. An inquiry has been launched into the removal of human tissue from workers at Sellafield in Cumbria for medical tests since the 1960s. The inquiry, led by Michael Redfern QC, could take up to a year. It has now been widened to include Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire and UK Atomic Energy Agency (UKAEA) at Harwell in Oxfordshire. Join discussion...

Nearly half of all people infected with HIV/AIDS are now women, the majority of whom contracted the disease through sexual intercourse with male partners. Especially alarming is the steady increase in HIV rates among women under the age of 25, a population considered one of today’s most vulnerable for acquiring the disease. Due to both biological and cultural factors, women are more than twice as likely as men to acquire HIV through sexual intercourse. In an effort to help stem the tide of the Join discussion...

Researchers have identified a new gene mutation linked to frontotemporal dementia, according to a study published in the July 10, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Frontotemporal dementia, one form of which is known as Pick's disease, involves progressive shrinking of the areas of the brain that control behavior and language. Symptoms include language problems and personality changes, often with inappropriate social behavior. Unlike Alzheimer's Join discussion...