Current management of infants with fetal renal pelvis dilation: a survey by French-speaking pediatric nephrologists and urologists

To analyze the current management recommendations among French-speaking physicians treating infants with antenatal renal pelvis dilatation, we surveyed 83 pediatric nephrologists and 68 pediatric urologists by questionnaire. A total of 45 (54%) pediatric nephrologists and 38 (56%) pediatric urologists responded. The threshold for the diagnosis of abnormal fetal renal pelvis dilatation was significantly higher among pediatric urologists than nephrologists. All responders perform renal ultrasound examinations after birth. Postnatal renal pelvis dilatation was considered abnormal if the anteroposterior diameter was 11±1.9 mm by the pediatric urologists and 9±2.9 mm by the pediatric nephrologists (P=0.003). Pediatric urologists were more likely than nephrologists to recommend routine voiding cystourethrography [41% versus 20% (P=0.04)]. Mercaptoacetyl-triglycine renography was the most routinely used tool to achieve functional evaluation during follow-up among the responders. Pediatric urologists were more likely to recommend surgical treatment in dilated kidneys with initial function <40%. In conclusion, pediatric urologists had significantly higher thresholds for the detection of prenatal and neonatal renal pelvis dilatation. They also more frequently recommended routine voiding cystourethrography and surgical therapy of dilated kidneys with low function than pediatric nephrologists. The variability in attitudes is most probably due to the absence of clear guidelines based on prospective and controlled trials.The following workers contributed to this study. For the French-speaking Society of Pediatric Nephrology (SNP): J. Al Hosri (Hôpital Nord, Amiens, France), J.L. André (Hôpital dEnfants, Nancy, France), A. Bensman (Hôpital Trousseau, Paris, France), E. Berard (LArchet II, Nice, France), J.P. Bertheleme (Centre Hélio Marin, Roscoff, France), F. Bouissou (Hôpital des Enfants, Toulouse, France), G. Bourdat-Michel (CHU, Grenoble, France), G. Champion (CHU, Angers, France), S. Cloarec (Hôpital Clocheville, Tours, France), L. Collard (Hôpital E. Herriot, Lyon, France), J.C. Davin (Emma Childrens Hospital, Amsterdam, Holland), L. de Parscau (Hôpital Augustin Morvan, Brest, France), S. Decramer (Hôpital des Enfants, Toulouse, France), V. Desvignes (CH, Clermont Ferrand, France), R. Donckerwolcke (AZ, Maastricht, Holland), J. Ehrich (MHH, Hannover, Germany), M. Fischbach (Hôpital de Hautepierre, Strasbourg, France), M. Foulard (Hôpital Jeanne de Flandre, Lille, France), M.S. Ghuysen (CHU Sart Tilman, Liège, Belgium), J.B. Gouyon (Hôpital dEnfants, Dijon, France), J.P. Guignard (CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland), C. Guyot (CHU, Nantes, France), P. Hansen (Hôpital Tivoli, La Louvière, Belgium), J.P. Hehunstre (Hôpital Pellegrin, Bordeaux, France), F. Janssen (Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants, Brussels, Belgium), M.J. Krier (Hôpital dEnfants, Nancy, France), A. Lahoche-Manucci (Hôpital Jeanne de Flandre, Lille, France), H. La Selve (Centre Hélio Marin, Roscoff, France), M.P. Lavocat (Hôpital Nord, Saint Etienne, France), C. Loirat (Hôpital Robert Debré, Paris, France), J. Lombet (CHR La Citadelle, Liège, Belgium), A. May (CH Sud Francilien, Evry, France), D. Morin (Hôpital Arnaud de Villeneuve, Montpellier, France), J.B. Palcoux (Hôtel Dieu, Clermont Ferrand, France), S. Palomera (CTMR, Bordeaux, France), C. Pietrement (American Memorial Hospital, Reims, France), S. Ploos van Amstel (Emma Childrens Hospital, Amsterdam, Holland), W. Proesmans (UZ Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium), N. Ranguelov (CHU, Charleroi, Belgium), B. Roussel (American Memorial Hospital, Reims, France), M.H. Said (Hôpital E. Herriot, Lyon, France), A. Taque (Hôpital de Pontchaillou, Rennes, France), M. Tsimaratos (Hôpital La Timone, Marseille, France). R. Van Damme-Lombaerts (UZ Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium)For the French-speaking Pediatric Urology Study Group (GEUP): T. Aivazoglou (Aglaia Kyriakou Hospital, Athens, Greece), J.L. Alain (CHU Dupuytren, Limoges, France), P. Alessandrini (Hôpital Nord, Marseille, France), G. Audry (Hôpital Trousseau, Paris, France), M. Avérous (Hôpital Lapeyronie, Montpellier, France), R. Besson (Hôpital Jeanne de Flandre, Lille, France), J. Biserte (Hôpital Huriez, Lille, France), B. Boillot (CHU Albert Michallon, Grenoble, France), J.M. Bondonny (Hôpital des Enfants, Bordeaux, France), J.P. Bonnet (Hôpital Simone Veil, Montmorency, France), P. Bugmann (Hôpital des Enfants, Geneva, Switzerland), F. Collier (Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants, Brussels, Belgium), J.F. Colombani (CHU, Fort-de-France, France), H. Dodat (Hôpital E. Herriot, Lyon, France), B. Dore (CHU, Poitiers, France), A. El Ghoneimi (Hôpital R. Debré, Paris, France), C. Esposito (Universitary Hospital, Naples, Italy), B. Fremond (Clinique Chirurgicale infantile, Rennes, France), P. Frey (CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland), S. Geiss (Centre de la Mère et lEnfant, Colmar, France), I. Germouty (CHU, Brest, France), Y. Heloury (CHU, Nantes, France), A. Lacombe (Hôpital Clocheville, Tours, France), S. Lortat-Jacob (Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris, France), T. Merrot (Hôpital Nord, Marseille, France), R. Moog (Hôpital de Hautepierre, Strasbourg, France), G. Morisson-Lacombe (Hôpital Saint Joseph, Marseille, France), J. Moscovici (Hôpital des Enfants, Toulouse, France), P. Mouriquand (Hôpital Debrousse, Lyon, France), E. Sapin (CHU, Dijon, France), A. Savanelli (Universitary Hospital, Catanzaro, Italy), M. Schmitt (Hôpital dEnfants, Nancy, France), H. Steyaert (Fondation Lenval, Nice, France), C. Tölg (CHU, Fort-de-France, France), J.S. Valla (Fondation Lenval, Nice, France), F. Varlet (Hôpital Nord, Saint Etienne, France), P. Wallon (Centre de Chirurgie de lEnfant, Bordeaux, France), D. Weil (Centre Hospitalier, Le Mans, France)     

Dose-response relationship for exercise on severity of experimental osteoarthritis in rats: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of a calibrated exercise on the progression of structural lesions in an experimental model of osteoarthritis (OA) in the rat, and to explore the effect of exercise on the level of chondrocyte caspase-dependent apoptosis and of Hsp70. METHODS: The OA model was induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT). Rats were placed in 4 experimental groups: operated (ACLT) free moving rats, and 3 exercise groups (slight, moderate and intense) subjected to running training. Rats were killed 14 and 28 days after surgery. RESULTS: On D14 histological assessment demonstrated a beneficial influence of a slight and a moderate exercise vs control ACLT group. Hsp70 increased significantly in the moderate group vs controls. On D28, histological lesions strongly decreased in the slight and moderate exercise groups vs ACLT group, while an intense effort abolished this beneficial trend. Interestingly, the concomitant course of apoptotic events (caspase 3-positive cells) and the co-expression of Hsp70 in the various groups varied, when significant, in an inverse manner. In the intense group this overexpression was not noted, as a "burn out" appeared, thus leading to a loss of this protective effect. CONCLUSION: This study shows that a calibrated slight or moderate exercise exerts a beneficial influence on the severity of chondral lesions in ACLT rats. Conversely, a strong effort abolishes this chondroprotective effect. This effect could be related to a reduced level of chondrocyte apoptosis through anti-apoptotic capacities of stress-induced Hsp70 overexpression.     

Genetic osteoarticular diseases under the molecular biology spotlight

Major strides have been made recently in unraveling the genetic underpinnings of various bone and joint diseases. In many cases, progress in molecular biology has provided detailed knowledge in this area. An overview is given herein.     

Reemerging threat of epidemic typhus in Algeria

We report a case of epidemic typhus in a patient from the Batna region of Algeria, who presented with generalized febrile exanthema. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by serological cross-adsorption followed by Western blotting. Our report emphasizes the threat of epidemic typhus in the highlands of Algeria.     

A large para-renal PEComa

We report the case of a 45-year-old man with a voluminous para-renal mass. The tumor was composed of epithelioid or spindle-shaped eosinophilic and clear cells with some atypia and an elevated mitotic count. The immunohistochemical study was positive for anti-HMB45 antibodies and anti-actin-antibodies and negative for epithelial markers and PS100 antibodies. The diagnosis of epithelioid AML (PEComa) was established. Two years later, recurrence was observed with a voluminous mass in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen, with high cellular density and the same immunohistochemical features. This tumor belongs to the PEComa and is not easy to diagnose clinically and morphologically. The immunohistochemical phenotype is characteristic. AML are usually benign but some epithelioid AMLS outcome can be unfavorable with metastatic dissemination. Criteria of malignancy are not clearly defined in the literature. This case shows that the mitotic count and the tumor size are probably important.     

Intraocular detection of Bartonella henselae in a patient with HLA-B27 uveitis

Bartonella henselae uveitis was diagnosed in a 40-year-old woman with underlying HLA-B27 uveitis on the basis of immunodetection and molecular detection of the organism, a Marseilles genogroup and a CAL-1 genotype strain, in the vitreous fluid. This case illustrates that B. henselae should be included in the differential diagnosis of uveitis and the usefulness of immunodetection for rapid and specific diagnosis.     

Use of genes encoding cellobiohydrolase-C and topoisomerase II as targets for phylogenetic analysis and identification of Fusarium

Molecular identification and phylogenetic studies rely to a large extent on rDNA sequence polymorphism. In the field of fungal taxonomy, despite the use of huge amounts of rDNA data available, some species within a given genus remain indistinguishable. Therefore, new target sequences need to be selected and validated. This is the case for Fusarium, which includes numerous species most of which are involved in both animal and plant pathologies. In addition to the rDNA fragment encompassing the internal transcribed spacers ITS1 and ITS2 and the 5.8 S sequence, two newly characterized genes were used as molecular markers for Fusarium species genotyping. The cellobiohydrolase-C (cbh-C) and the topoisomerase II (topII) gene parts were cloned and sequenced for at least one isolate of each of the eleven different species of our collection. Both cbh-C and topII were found to be single copy genes. DNA fragments amplified by PCR in order to establish phylogenetic trees range from 1123 to 1157 bp for rDNA and from 327 to 344 bp for cbh-C (this part contains one intron). The topII gene part encoding the carboxy-terminus of the ATP binding domain of the enzyme is constant in length with a value of 724 bp. PAUP-generated phylogenetic analyses based either on cbh-C or topII data enabled all species to be distinguished, and were more informative than those resulting from rDNA sequences. Furthermore, a combination of the three datasets enhanced the accuracy of the analyses and open up new possibilities for rapid molecular identification and evolution studies within the Fusarium genus.     

A novel alpha-Proteobacterium, Nordella oligomobilis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated by using amoebal co-cultures

Using an amoebal co-culture procedure, a novel alpha-Proteobacterium phylogenetically close to two uncultured aquatic bacteria was isolated. On the basis of phenotypic characterization and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, we propose the new genus and species Nordella oligomobilis gen. nov., sp. nov. The genus Nordella forms a well separated taxon in the order Rhizobiales within the alpha-2 subgroup of Proteobacteria. Its close relatives are environmental uncultured bacteria.     

Cochlear implants in elderly people: preliminary results

The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefit of cochlear implantation in adults aged 60 years and over. Twenty-eight patients, older than 60 years and with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, received a cochlear implant between 1991 and 2001. The mean age was 66 years and the median follow-up was 22.5 months. Speech perception scores before and after implantation were analyzed retrospectively in order to evaluate the benefit of cochlear implantation. There was a significant improvement of the disyllabic words and sentences scores after implantation. The patients who were over 70 years performed as well as those who were younger. The surgical procedure was well tolerated in all patients. One patient developed a postoperative vertigo due to a perilymphatic fistula. In conclusion, cochlear implantation offers improvement in speech perception to the elderly population, as in the younger population. A careful assessment of the physical status of these patients remains essential in order to evaluate the risk-benefit of this procedure.     

Actions of subtype-specific purinergic ligands on rat spiral ganglion neurons

In a previous study we showed that, in rat spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), the adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)-evoked currents were a combination of the activation of ionotropic receptors (the first fast current) and the activation of metabotropic receptors which secondarily opened non-selective cation channels. These two conductances imply the involvement of different receptor subtypes. In the present study, we tested three subtype-specific purinergic ligands: alpha,beta-methylene ATP (a;pha,beta-meATP) for P2X receptors, uridine 5'-triphosphate (UTP) for P2Y receptors and 2'-3'-O-(4-benzoylbenzoyl) ATP (Bz-ATP) for P2Z (P2X(7)) receptors. Application of 100 microM alpha,beta-meATP did not trigger any significant change in membrane conductance, while the SGNs were responsive to ATP. Pressure application of UTP (100 microM, 1 s) evoked an inward current averaging 344+/-169 pA at a holding potential of -50 mV. The conductance developed after a latency averaging 1.5+/-0.6 s, took 4-6 s to peak and reversed slowly within 15-30 s. The current-voltage curve reversed near 0 mV, suggesting a non-selective cation conductance, like the second component of the ATP conductance. Bz-ATP evoked an inward current which developed without latency, was sustained during ligand application and was rapidly inactivated at the end of application: the same characteristics as the first component of the ATP-evoked current. The Bz-ATP conductance reversed around -10 mV, indicating also a non-selective cation conductance. These results suggest that, in SGNs, ATP acts via two different receptor subtypes, ionotropic P2Z receptors and metabotropic P2Y receptors, and that these two receptor subtypes can assume different physiological roles.