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Dramatic response to corticosteroid therapy of nephrotic syndrome associated with IgA nephropathy.

We report a dramatic response of the nephrotic syndrome to prednisolone therapy (2 mg per kg per day) in a 6-year-old boy with IgA nephropathy. He had developed massive proteinuria (22.1 gm per day) and microscopic hematuria shortly after an episode of tonsillitis. Renal biopsy two months after onset showed mild mesangial hypercellularity with typical mesangial deposition of IgA. Corticosteroid therapy resulted in a sharp cessation of proteinuria and complete resolution of the urinary abnormalities. We suggest that massive proteinuria associated with IgA nephropathy may be responsive to corticosteroid therapy when there are minimal glomerular changes.

Biopsy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Zinc absorption and its correlation with results of oral zinc tolerance testing in nonalcoholic liver cirrhosis; kinetic study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Liver cirrhosis is often complicated by symptoms of zinc deficiency, i.e., disturbances of taste and smell, skin eruptions, and other symptoms. We evaluated zinc absorption in patients with nonalcoholic liver cirrhosis to clarify the cause of zinc deficiency. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The absorption of zinc was calculated from the results of both the oral and intravenous zinc loading tests. RESULTS: Absorption was significantly reduced the cirrhotic patients, 20.4 +/- 10.7% as compared with the controls, 38.3 +/- 11.0%. In the cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, it was 17.8 +/- 9.3%, not significantly different from that of cirrhotics without hepatocellular carcinoma, 24.1 +/- 10.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with nonalcoholic liver cirrhosis had no influence on zinc absorption. Because a lower correlation between zinc absorption and the results of oral zinc tolerance testing was observed, the oral zinc tolerance test alone cannot be used as an accurate procedure for evaluating zinc absorption in liver cirrhosis. One should thus use both the intravenous as well as the oral zinc loading test when evaluating zinc absorption.

Absorption↗