Hematuria: Blood In Urine
Hematuria is the presence of blood in the urine. Studies have found it in 2.5% to 21% of the general population.1 When the blood is visible to the patient, it is referred to as gross hematuria. More often, blood is found on routine testing and is visible only by microscopic analysis; this is termed microscopic hematuria. The American Urological Association defines microscopic hematuria as the presence of three or more red blood cells per high-power field on microscopic evaluation from two out of three urine specimens. 2
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The Kidneys: Functions and Diseases
The kidneys are a part of the urinary system which consists of a pair of glandular kidneys, a pair tubular ureters, a urinary bladder, and a urethra.1 Or these, the kidneys are of vital importance and perform many functions to keep the blood clean and chemically balanced. It is important to understand how the kidneys work and this information may help you keep them healthy.
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Kidney Stones (Renal Lithiasis) and Nutrition
Kidney stones (renal lithiasis) is a multifactorial disease. An important number of etiologic factors can be adequately modified trough diet, since it must be considered that the urine composition is directly related to diet. In fact, the change of inappropriate habitual diet patterns should be the main measure to prevent kidney stones. In this paper, the relation between different dietary factors (liquid intake, pH, calcium, phosphate, oxalate, citrate, phytate, urate and vitamins) and each type of renal stone (calcium oxalate monohydrate papillary, calcium oxalate monohydrate unattached, calcium oxalate dihydrate, calcium oxalate dihydrate/hydroxyapatite, hydroxyapatite, struvite infectious, brushite, uric acid, calcium oxalate/uric acid and cystine) is discussed.
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Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and the Kidney
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit the isoenzymes COX-1 and COX-2 of cyclooxygenase (COX). Renal side effects (e.g., kidney function, fluid and urinary electrolyte excretion) vary with the extent of COX-2-COX-1 selectivity and the administered dose of these compounds. While young healthy subjects will rarely experience adverse renal effects with the use of NSAIDs, elderly patients and those with co-morbibity (e.g., congestive heart failure, liver cirrhosis or chronic kidney disease) and drug combinations (e.g., renin-angiotensin blockers, diuretics plus NSAIDs) may develop acute renal failure. This review summarizes our present knowledge how traditional NSAIDs and selective COX-2 inhibitors may affect the kidney under various experimental and clinical conditions, and how these drugs may influence renal inflammation, water transport, sodium and potassium balance and how renal dysfunction or hypertension may result.
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Dietary Protein and Kidney Function
Recent trends in weight loss diets have led to a substantial increase in protein intake by individuals. As a result, the safety of habitually consuming dietary protein in excess of recommended intakes has been questioned. In particular, there is concern that high protein intake may promote renal damage by chronically increasing glomerular pressure and hyperfiltration. There is, however, a serious question as to whether there is significant evidence to support this relationship in healthy individuals. In fact, some studies suggest that hyperfiltration, the purported mechanism for renal damage, is a normal adaptative mechanism that occurs in response to several physiological conditions. This paper reviews the available evidence that increased dietary protein intake is a health concern in terms of the potential to initiate or promote renal disease. While protein restriction may be appropriate for treatment of existing kidney disease, we find no significant evidence for a detrimental effect of high protein intakes on kidney function in healthy persons after centuries of a high protein Western diet.
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Theories and Fallacies of Muscle Cramps Part I
This is a follow-on from our series of articles on Fluid Intake and Dehydration, and as we were preparing to write this series, we realized that there may actually be even more nonsense and blatant lies in the media than there were for dehydration!
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Fluid Intake, Dehydration, and Exercise Part I
The story begins, as most do, at the beginning…a look at the history of fluid intake and drinking during endurance exercise, which serves to illustrate an important point, one which will be covered again and again in this series…For this post, we acknowledge Professor Tim Noakes of UCT, the fluid pioneer whose lifelong pursuit of the truth in this area (and a lone battle for much of it) has thrown up the excellent quotes and anecdotes we use as we delve into the issue.
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