Articles: function.
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Acute renal dysfunction and subsequent acute renal failure after cardiac surgery are associated with high mortality and morbidity. Early therapeutic or preventive intervention is hampered by the lack of an early biomarker for acute renal injury. Recent studies showed that urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL or lipocalin 2) is upregulated early (within 1 to 3 h) after murine renal injury and in pediatric acute renal dysfunction after cardiac surgery. The authors hypothesized that postoperative urinary NGAL concentrations are increased in adult patients developing acute renal dysfunction after cardiac surgery compared with patients without acute renal dysfunction. ⋯ Patients developing postoperative acute renal dysfunction had significantly higher urinary NGAL concentrations early after cardiac surgery. Urinary NGAL may therefore be a useful early biomarker of acute renal dysfunction after cardiac surgery. These findings may facilitate the early detection of acute renal injury and potentially prevent progression to acute renal failure.
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Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) is mainly characterized by pain. The assessment of KOA-related pain frequently focuses on different constructs subject to sources of bias or drawbacks, as the classical Pain at Rest (PAR). Movement-evoked pain (MEP), recently defined as 'pain during walking', emerges as a differential concept, since PAR and MEP are driven by different underlying mechanisms. Given the novelty of the MEP approach, its association with PAR or with different performance-based tests has not been studied in KOA yet. ⋯ This research elucidates the relevance of MEP, recently defined as 'pain during walking', through the analysis of its association with PAR and with functional performance (measured through four mobility tests) in knee osteoarthritis. The results from our study highlight the absence of either association or agreement between MEP and PAR, fact that supports and endorses the idea that both concepts measure and refer to different constructs in knee osteoarthritis.
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Metabolism is inextricably linked to every aspect of cellular function. In addition to energy production and biosynthesis, metabolism plays a crucial role in regulating signal transduction and gene expression. Altered metabolic states have been shown to maintain aberrant signaling and transcription, contributing to diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegeneration. ⋯ By linking metabolic disturbance of dorsal root ganglia to transcriptome reprogramming, this study enhances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying persistent nociceptive sensitization. These findings imply that impaired mitochondrial pyruvate oxidation may drive chronic pain, possibly by impacting transcriptomic regulation. Exploring these metabolite-driven mechanisms further might reveal novel therapeutic targets for intractable pain.