肾衰康延缓慢性肾衰竭进展的实验研究

目的：探讨肾衰康延缓慢性肾衰竭（CRF）进展的疗效及机理。方法：采用5／6肾切除大鼠CRF模型,随机分为模型组、洛汀新组及肾衰康组治疗,观察各组Scr、BUN及尿中细胞外基质成分（ECM）排泄量。结果：洛汀新组及肾衰康组Scr及BUN均显低于模型组（P＜0．01及P＜0．05）,而肾衰康组Scr又低于洛汀新组（P＜0．05）,肾衰康组尿中Ⅳ型胶原（Col-Ⅳ）、纤维连接蛋白（FN）及层粘连蛋白（LN）含量均明显比模型组高（P＜0．01）。结论：肾衰康有延缓CRF进展的作用,其机理可能与促进ECM成分从尿中排泄,从而减轻肾小球内ECM的聚集有关。但肾衰康对ECM是抑制合成还是促进降解尚需进一步探讨。     

肾毒宁冲剂对慢性肾衰竭大鼠肾组织TGF-β1和CTGF的影响

目的：观察肾毒宁冲剂对5/6肾切除慢性肾衰竭（CRF）大鼠肾组织转化生长因子-β1（TGF-β1）、结缔组织生长因子（CTGF）的影响。方法：取雄性SD大鼠,通过Platt法5/6肾切除制作CRF模型,术后2周行大鼠断尾采血,测定血清肌酐（Scr）、尿素氮（BUN）值,根据Scr随机分为模型组、尿毒清组及肾毒宁组,并设正常组和假手术组。饲养或治疗8周后处死大鼠,测定血Scr、BUN、Hb、RBC,用Real-time PCR法测定肾组织内TGF-β1及CTGF的表达。结果：肾毒宁组血Scr、BUN、Hb、RBC与模型组相比有统计学差异（P〈0.01）。肾毒宁冲剂对肾组织内TGF-β1、CTGF表达有较强的抑制作用（P〈0.05和P〈0.01）,尿毒清冲剂作用次之,肾毒宁组与尿毒清组间无统计学差异。结论：肾毒宁冲剂通过抑制肾组织TGF-β1、CTGF的表达,降低血清Scr、BUN含量,从而起到延缓CRF肾功能的恶化,改善肾脏纤维化的作用。     

氯化汞诱导大鼠肾间质纤维化的脂质过氧化损伤机制研究

目的：探讨氯化汞（HgCl2）灌胃诱导大鼠肾间质纤维化模型的脂质过氧化损伤病理机制。方法：以8mg／kgHgCl2水溶液灌胃9周，设1周、2周、4周、6周和9周5个观察时间点。试剂盒方法检测肾功能（Scr、BUN）和脂质过氧化情况（GSH、GSH—Px、MDA、SOD），盐酸水解法检测肾组织羟脯氨酸（Hyp）含量，HE染色和Masson染色观察肾组织病理形态，免疫组化观察肾组织金属硫蛋白（MT）的表达和分布，免疫印记法观察核因子-κB（NF-κB）信号途径的激活（IκB、P—IκB、TNF—α）和α-平滑肌肌动蛋白（α—SMA）等蛋白的表达。结果：与正常组相比，9周模型大鼠血清Scr、BUN含量增高（Scr，P〈0．05；BUN，P〈0．01），肾组织GSH含量、GSH—Px活力明显降低（GSH，P〈0．05；GSH～Px，P〈0.01），MDA含量升高（P〈0．05），SOD活力各组无差异（P〉0．05）；肾组织Hyp含量逐渐升高（P〈0．05）。模型大鼠肾组织炎性浸润，肾间质胶原沉积增多，间质增宽，肾小管萎缩，表现出较为典型的肾间质纤维化。模型大鼠肾组织MT表达逐渐减少；IκB表达无差异（P〉0.05），P—IκB、TNF—α蛋白表达均明显增加（P—IκB，P〈0．05；TNF—α，P〈0．01）。α～SMA表达增加（P〈0．01）。结论：HgCl2诱导大鼠肾间质纤维化病变机制在于肾组织脂质过氧化损伤，从而诱导NF-κB信号途径的活化和肌成纤维细胞活化。最终造成肾间质纤维化。     

生血肾灵治疗肾性贫血的临床研究

目的：观察生血肾灵对肾性贫血的疗效和机制。方法：收集31例慢性肾衰竭（CRF）处于失代偿期和肾功能衰竭期的患,给予生血肾灵治疗2个月,观察患的一般症状和体征,并于治疗前后分别测定病人的血色素（Hb)、红细胞压积（Hct)、血肌酐（Scr)、血尿素氮（BUN）、中分子物质（MMS）、血红细胞超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性和脂质过氧化物（LPO）,并进行治疗前后的对比。结果：经生血肾灵治疗后患的症状和体征明显改善;治疗后的Hb、Hct及SOD较治疗前明显升高（P＜0．01）;Scr、BUN、MMS及LPO较治疗前显降低（P＜0．01）。结论：生血肾灵能够明显改善CRF患的症状和体征,延缓肾衰进程,纠正肾性贫血。     

血管内皮生长因子基因转染骨髓间充质干细胞对慢性肾衰竭大鼠肾脏的修复作用

目的探讨血管内皮生长因子（vascularendothelialgrowthfactor,VEGF）基因转染骨髓间充质干细胞（mesenchymalstemcelis,MSC）对慢性肾衰竭（chronicrenalfailure,CRF）大鼠肾脏的修复作用。方法体外分离、培养大鼠MSC,Ad—VEGF转染MSC。SD大鼠随机分为假手术组（对照组）、慢性肾衰竭模型组（肾衰组）、慢性肾衰竭大鼠MSC移植组（MsC组）、慢性。肾衰竭竭大鼠AdVEGF注射组（VEGF组）和慢性肾衰竭大鼠Ad—VEGF转染的MSC移植组（转染组）。采用分阶段5／6肾切除术制备大鼠CRF动物模型。对照组与肾衰组于切除右肾之前从该侧肾动脉注射不含血清的DMEM培养液,其他3组分别给予MSC、Ad—VEGF和VEGF基因转染的MSC。8周后检测各组大鼠血肌酐（SCr）、血尿素氮（BUN）和24h尿蛋白,观察各组大鼠残肾组织病理形态,并用免疫印迹和RT—PCR方法检测各组大鼠残肾组织VEGFmRNA和蛋白的表达。结果MSC组和转染组SCr、BUN和尿蛋白均较。肾衰组降低（P〈0．05）;与MSC组比较,转染组SCr、BUN和尿蛋白降低更明显（P〈0．05）。肾衰组残肾组织VEGFmRNA和蛋白的表达较对照组显著减少（P〈0．05）,MSC组和转染组残肾组织VEGFmRNA和蛋白的表达明显增加（与肾衰组比较,均P〈0．05）,转染组残肾组织VEGFmRNA和蛋白的表达增加更明显（与M9C组比较,P〈0．05）。结论VEGF基因转染的MSC移植对CRF大鼠的肾脏有修复作用,这可能与VEGF在肾组织中高表达有关。     

肾衰泻浊丸对慢性肾衰竭大鼠BMP-7／Smads／TGF—β1信号转导通路的影响

目的：通过实验研究观察肾衰泻浊丸对腺嘌呤致慢性肾衰竭（CRF）大鼠BMP-7／Smads／TGF-β1岛信号转导通路的影响,探讨肾衰泻浊九延缓CRF进展及抗肾间质纤维化的机制。方法：采用腺嘌呤致CRF大鼠模型,观察实验大鼠治疗后血清BUN、Scr的变化及肾脏病理变化;采用免疫组织化学法检测肾组织中TGF-β1,Smad6及BMP-7蛋白表达;采用WesternBlot法检测肾组织内的Smad6、BMP-7蛋白的表达,采用半定量RT—PCR检测肾组织内的TGF-β1 mRNA的表达水平。结果：肾衰泻浊丸能够明显降低CRF大鼠血清BUN、Scr水平,与对照组比较差异有统计学意义;能够减轻肾小管间质损伤;能够降低肾组织中TGF-β1蛋白的表达,增加Smad6,BMP-7蛋白的表达,与对照组比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）;能够下调CRF大鼠肾组织中TGF—β1 mRNA的表达,与对照组比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。结论：肾衰泻浊丸可能是通过升高Smad6,BMP-7蛋白的表达,降低TGF-β1的蛋白表达,从而抑制了TGF-β1信号向细胞核内转导的通路;肾衰泻浊丸通过影响BMP-7／Smads／TGF-β1信号通路的转导而减轻肾间质纤维化可能是其延缓CRF进展的机制之一。     

肾毒宁冲剂对慢性肾衰竭大鼠肾组织细胞外基质的影响

目的：观察肾毒宁冲剂对5/6肾切除慢性肾衰竭（CRF）大鼠肾组织细胞外基质（ECM）主要成分纤维连接蛋白（FN）、层黏连蛋白（LN）、Ⅲ型胶原（ColⅢ）的影响。方法：取雄性SD大鼠,通过Platt法5/6肾切除制作CRF模型,术后2周行大鼠断尾采血,测定血清肌酐（Scr）、血尿素氮（BUN）值,根据Scr随机分为模型组、尿毒清组及肾毒宁组,并设正常组和假手术组。饲养或治疗8周后处死大鼠,测定Scr、BUN、Hb、RBC、24h尿蛋白定量及肾组织内FN、LN和ColⅢ的表达。结果：肾毒宁组Scr、BUN、Hb、RBC、24h尿蛋白定量与模型组相比差异有统计学意义（P〈0.01）。肾毒宁冲剂对肾组织ECM主要成分FN、LN和ColⅢ表达有较强的抑制作用（P〈0.01）,尿毒清冲剂作用次之,肾毒宁组与尿毒清组间差异无统计学意义。结论：肾毒宁冲剂可显著改善肾功能,这可能与肾毒宁冲剂能抑制CRF大鼠肾组织FN、LN和ColⅢ表达有关。     

肾衰Ⅱ号方对5/6肾切除大鼠肾血流量和肾内氧耗影响及其作用机制

目的：观察肾衰Ⅱ号方对于5/6（A/I）肾切除慢性肾衰竭大鼠模型的肾血流量和肾内氧耗影响及其作用机制。方法：采用经典5/6（Ablation/Infarction,A/I）肾切除慢性肾衰竭（CRF）模型法制作CRF动物模型,随机分为模型组（B组）、肾衰组（肾衰Ⅱ号方）（C组）、西药组（氯沙坦钾合蒙诺）（D组）,每组15只,另设假手术组（A组）15只。给予相应干预,60d后检测肌酐、尿素氮等生化指标,测定肾内血流量,计算残余肾内氧耗。结果：（1）造模后与A组相比,模型组尾动脉收缩压明显升高（P〈0.01）,舒张压升高（P〈0.05）。（2）干预结束后,与B组相比,C、D组的尿素氮、血肌酐下降（P〈0.05）,内生肌酐清除率上升（P〈0.05）,左肾静脉压升高（P〈0.05）,肾血流量升高（P〈0.05）,肾内氧耗明显降低（P〈0.01）,血红蛋白值上升（P〈0.05）,体重增加（P〈0.05）,左肾与体重比值下降（P〈0.05）;C组与D组比较,肾血流量、肾内氧耗组间差异有统计学差异（P〈0.05）,肾衰Ⅱ号方在提高肾血流量、降低肾内氧耗方面优于氯沙坦钾合蒙诺。干预前后比较,C组和D组治疗前后各组血肌酐、尿素氮的差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）,肾衰Ⅱ号方在降血肌酐、尿素氮方面好于氯沙坦钾合蒙诺,在改善内生肌酐清除率方面两组治疗内生肌酐清除率的差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）。结论：肾衰Ⅱ号方可以提高残余肾组织的肾血流量,降低肾内氧耗,改善肾功能,可能通过能量代谢变化延缓慢性肾脏病进程。     

来氟米特对5／6肾切除大鼠肾皮质TGF-β1表达的影响

目的：探讨来氟米特对5／6肾切除大鼠转化生长因子-β1（TGF-β1）表达的影响。方法：将36只SD大鼠随机分为假手术组（A组）12只和手术组24只,术后3d再将手术组大鼠随机分为模型组（B组）12只和来氟米特组（C组）12只。第4,9周末各组随机选取6只大鼠处死并收集标本,记录血肌酐、尿素氮、胆固醇、三酰甘油、白蛋白及24h尿蛋白排泄量;取肾组织做病理检查,用RT-PCR方法测定肾皮质TGF-β1 mRNA的表达,免疫组化（SP法）检测TGF-β1在肾脏的表达。结果：（1）与A组相比,B组和C组大鼠造模成功后4周末尿素氮、肌酐、血脂等无明显变化（P〉0．05）;B组24h尿蛋白排泄量明显增加（P〈0．01）,血白蛋白下降（P〈0．01）,肾皮质TGF-β1 mRNA表达明显增加（P均〈0．05）。9周末B组肾皮质TGF-β1 mRNA表达量、尿素氮、肌酐、胆固醇明显增加（P〈0．05）,24h尿蛋白排泄量增加更为明显（P〈0．05）。（2）与B组相比,C组24h尿蛋白排泄量明显下降（P均〈0．01）;于9周末尿素氮、肌酐、胆固醇明显降低（P〈0．05）;血白蛋白升高（P〈0．05）,肾小球硬化指数下降（P〈0．01）,肾皮质TGF-β1 mRNA表达量明显下降（P〈0．01）。免疫组织化学染色：B组可见系膜区TGF-β1大量沉积,C组也可见TGF-β1沉积,但较B组明显减轻。结论：来氟米特能减少5／6肾切除大鼠尿蛋白排泄量,纠正其脂代谢紊乱,减轻肾脏的硬化程度,其机制可能与下调系膜细胞上TGF-β1 mRNA的表达量及功能活性有关,最终延缓慢性肾脏病的进展。     

肾炎康复片对糖尿病肾病大鼠肾组织Podocalyxin表达的影响

目的：观察肾炎康复片对糖尿病肾病大鼠肾组织Podocalyxin表达、生化指标及病理改变的影响。方法：40只雌性Wistar大鼠随机分为正常对照组、DN模型组（模型组）、肾炎康复片治疗组（中药组）、氯沙坦钾治疗组（西药组）。复制糖尿病肾病大鼠模型,并予药物干预。分别观察不同时期各组大鼠血糖、24h尿蛋白定量,12周末大鼠肾组织Podocalyxin表达水平、Scr、BuN及肾脏组织病理变化。结果：12周模型组、中药组、西药组大鼠Podocalyxin蛋白表达均显著低于同期正常对照组（P〈0．05）,肾组织病理损伤明显,24h尿蛋白定量较正常对照组显著增高（P〈0．05）。12周末用药组大鼠肾组织Podocalyxin蛋白表达显著高于同期模型组（P〈0．05）,肾组织病理损伤较模型组明显减轻。血糖水平略低于同期模型组,但差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）,24h尿蛋白定量、BUN、Scr水平显著低于同期模型组（P〈0．05）。结论：肾炎康复片能够上调糖尿病肾病大鼠肾组织Podocalyxin表达水平,对糖尿病肾病肾脏损伤有保护性作用。     

Renal Disease in Colombia

Chronic renal disease represents a problem of public health in Colombia. Its prevalence has increased in last decade, with a prevalence of 44.7 patients per million (ppm) in 1993 to 294.6 ppm in 2004, considering that only 56.2% of the population has access to the health. This increase complies with the implementation of Law 100 of 1993, offering greater coverage of health services to the Colombian population. The cost of these pathologies is equivalent to the 2.49% of the budget for health of the nation. The three most common causes of renal failure are diabetes mellitus (DM; 30%), arterial hypertension (30%), and glomerulonephritis (7.85%). In incident patients, the DM accounts for 32.9%. The rate of global mortality is 15.8%, 17.4% in hemodialysis and 15.1% in peritoneal dialysis. In 2004, 467 renal transplants were made, 381 of decease donor with an incidence of 10.3 ppm.

The excessive cost of these pathologies can cause the nation's health care system to collapse if preventative steps are not taken. In December of 2004, the Colombian Association of Nephrology with the participation of the Latin American Society of Nephrology and Arterial Hypertension wrote the “Declaration of Bogotá,” committing the state's scientific societies and promotional health companies to develop a model of attention for renal health that, in addition to implementing national registries, continues to manage renal disease.     

Mortality in Elderly Patients with Acute Renal Failure

In a retrospective study, we identified 55 elderly patients with acute renal failure (ARF) admitted to our hospital during an 8-year period from 1985 to 1993. Information about the etiology, complications, laboratory data, and treatment course were obtained from the clinical history. Of the 200 patients with ARF admitted to the hospital during this period, 28% were patients more than 60 years old (41 male and 14 female) with an average age of 68.5 ± 7 years. The main causes of ARF were sepsis, volume depletion, low cardiac output, arterial hypotension, nephrotoxicity by antibiotics, and obstructive uropathy. The global mortality of elderly patients with ARF was 53%. The mortality rate of the different types of the ARF were: prerenal 35%, intrinsic 64% (oliguric 76%, nonoliguric 50%), and postrenal 40%. Mortality as a result of sepsis occurred in 18 patients (62%), by cardiovascular disease in 4 patients (13%), by acute respiratory failure in 2 patients (7%), and by other causes in 5 patients (18%). In the cases of sepsis, Pseudomonas was detected in 7 cases (39%), Escherichia coli in 2 cases (11%), Gram-negative nonspecific in 3 cases (17%), Klebsiella in 1 case (5%), and in 5 cases (16%), the hemoculture was negative. The patient survival rate was 47% (26 of 55 patients). Of these patients, 19 recovered their normal renal function (73%), but 7 patients remained with renal failure (27%). In conclusion, the global mortality in the elderly patients without considering the types of ARF was 53%. The oliguric form had the highest mortality rate with 76%. The main causes for mortality were sepsis with 62%, cardiovascular disease with 13%, and other causes 18%.     

肾活检在老年急性肾衰竭临床应用的探讨

目的：探讨肾活检术对老年急性肾衰竭的应用价值,提高老年急性肾衰竭的诊治水平。方法：66例不明原因老年急性肾衰竭均行实时超声引导肾自动穿刺活检术,分析其成功率、并发症,总结肾活检后诊断和治疗的修正率。结果：66例肾活检取材均成功;其中取材不良4例（6.1%）,取材良好62例（93.9%）;3例出现轻度并发症（4.5%）,其中肉眼血尿2例,肾周血肿1例,未出现严重并发症;66例中病因误诊19例,26例治疗方案有较大调整。结论：老年急性肾衰竭患者行经皮肾脏穿刺活检术安全且成功率高;相当部分老年急性肾衰竭病因被误诊,对不明原因老年急性肾衰竭应及时行肾活检术,以免延误诊治。     

Renal Transplantation

Summary BACKGROUND: Clinical renal transplantation has been performed successfully since 1955. With the introduction of Cyclosporin A to the market, 1982, results markedly improved, and allogeneic renal transplantation became a standard therapy in the treatment of end stage kidney failure. Life expectancy and quality of life is superior in kidney recipients in comparison with patients on dialysis. METHODS: In our center 699, renal transplantations have been performed since 1968. 98.1 % of the transplanted kidneys were from cadaveric donors, 1.9 % from living related donors. Mean age of the recipients was 30.7 ± 13.9 years from 1968 to 1983, and is now 45.9 ± 13.1 (1999 to 2002). The kidneys are normally transplanted to the common iliac vessels in end-to-side fashion. A Politano-Leadbetter antirefluxive implantation of the ureter is obligatory. RESULTS: 5-year graft survival was 19.4 % from 1968 to 1983, 74.3 % from 1984 to 1995, and 81.2 % from 1995 to 1998. Typical surgical complications are hematoma, lymphocele, ureter stenosis and ureter necrosis. The rate of necessary reoperations is 3.9 %. 5-year patient survival is 90 %. Heart disease (50 %), cancer (16 %), and sepsis (15 %) are the most frequent causes of death after renal transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: Renal transplantation continues to be the optimal treatment of terminal kidney failure. New immunosuppressive agents have improved the outcome after kidney transplantation. Enlargement of the donor pool is being attempted by the acceptance of older organs and by the acceptance of pediatric organs for adult recipients, too.     

Renal failure and its treatment

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of acute illness. It is associated with signicant morbidity and mortality as well as a high cost to healthcare systems. There are a broad range of causes of AKI which should be considered in a systematic fashion to avoid missing multiple potential causative factors. These include pre-renal causes from hypovolaemia, intrinsic renal causes such as glomerular diseases and post-renal obstructive causes. In the intensive care unit, two-thirds of AKI cases result from renal hypoperfusion, sepsis, contrast and nephrotoxic agents; up to 5% will require renal replacement therapy. Modalities of renal replacement therapy include intermittent haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and continuous haemoltration. Continuous haemoltration is usually favoured in the intensive care setting as it has greater haemodynamic stability and greater capacity to extract uid from patients with fluid overload. Anticoagulation options can be achieved with systemic anticoagulation such as heparin or regional anticoagulation with citrate.     

Renal Ischemic Injury Affects Renal Hemodynamics and Excretory Functions in Sprague Dawley Rats: Involvement of Renal Sympathetic Tone

The role of renal sympathetic nerves in the pathogenesis of ischemic acute renal failure (ARF) and the immediate changes in the renal excretory functions following renal ischemia were investigated. Two groups of male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were anesthetized (pentobarbitone sodium, 60 mg kg^?1 i.p.) and subjected to unilateral renal ischemia by clamping the left renal artery for 30 min followed by reperfusion. In group 1, the renal nerves were electrically stimulated and the responses in the renal blood flow (RBF) and renal vascular resistance (RVR) were recorded, while group 2 was used to study the early changes in the renal functions following renal ischemia. In post-ischemic animals, basal RBF and the renal vasoconstrictor reperfusion to renal nerve stimulation (RNS) were significantly lower (all p < 0.05 vs. control). Mean arterial pressure (MAP), basal RVR, urine flow rate (UFR), absolute and fractional excretions of sodium (U_NaV and FE_Na), and potassium (U_KV and FE_K) were higher in ARF rats (all p < 0.05 vs. control). Post-ischemic animals showed markedly lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (p < 0.05 vs. control). No appreciable differences were observed in urinary sodium to potassium ratio (U_Na/U_K) during the early reperfusion phase of renal ischemia (p > 0.05 vs. control). The data suggest an immediate involvement of renal sympathetic nerve action in the pathogenesis of ischemic ARF primarily through altered renal hemodynamics. Diuresis, natriuresis, and kaliuresis due to impaired renal tubular functions are typical responses to renal ischemia and of comparable magnitudes.     

Renal failure and its treatment

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of acute illness. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality as well as a high cost to healthcare systems. There are a broad range of causes of AKI which should be considered in a systematic fashion to avoid missing multiple potential causative factors. These include pre-renal causes from hypovolaemia, intrinsic renal causes such as glomerular diseases and post-renal obstructive causes. In the intensive care unit, two-thirds of AKI cases result from renal hypoperfusion, sepsis, contrast and nephrotoxic agents; up to 5% will require renal replacement therapy. Modalities of renal replacement therapy include intermittent haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and continuous haemofiltration. Continuous haemofiltration is usually favoured in the intensive care setting as it has greater haemodynamic stability and greater capacity to extract fluid from patients with fluid overload. Anticoagulation is recommended with haemodialysis and haemofiltration and systemic heparin, regional citrate or zero anticoagulation are the usual options.     

Renal Health in Chile

The prevalence of 20 diseases was studied in a representative sample of 3619 individuals in Chile. Twelve percent of the participants were younger than 25, 63% were 25–64 years old, and 25% were at least 65 years old. Thirty-four percent had high blood pressure, 60% were aware of their condition, 36% received treatment, and 12% reached their goal blood pressure. Renal function was assessed by serum creatinine and glomerular filtration rate, as estimated by the Cockroft-Gault formula. In all, 6.7% had elevated creatinine, 14% showed proteinuria, and 0.2% showed advanced renal damage. The results of this study will contribute to the prevention of renal diseases in Chile.     

Renal Transplantation for Chronic Renal Failure in Acute Porphyria

A woman with acute intermittent porphyria and a man with variegateporphyria developed chronic renal failure in middle age. Afterperiods on haemodialysis, both received successful cadavericrenal transplants. On the basis of animal porphyrinogenicitystudies prednisolone and azathioprine were used in preferenceto cyclosporin as immunosuppressive agents. Neither of the patientsshowed any evidence of activation of their porphyria during,or following, transplantation. The findings in these two patientsand a review of two previous reports indicate that acute porphyriais not a contraindication to renal transplantation.