• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.322-328
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• 2011

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is one of the most common glomerular diseases that affect children. Renal histology reveals the presence of minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) in more than 80% of these patients. Most patients with MCNS have favorable outcomes without complications. However, a few of these children have lesions of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, suffer from severe and prolonged proteinuria, and are at high risk for complications. Complications of NS are divided into two categories: disease-associated and drug-related complications. Disease-associated complications include infections (e.g., peritonitis, sepsis, cellulitis, and chicken pox), thromboembolism (e.g., venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism), hypovolemic crisis (e.g., abdominal pain, tachycardia, and hypotension), cardiovascular problems (e.g., hyperlipidemia), acute renal failure, anemia, and others (e.g., hypothyroidism, hypocalcemia, bone disease, and intussusception). The main pathomechanism of disease-associated complications originates from the large loss of plasma proteins in the urine of nephrotic children. The majority of children with MCNS who respond to treatment with corticosteroids or cytotoxic agents have smaller and milder complications than those with steroid-resistant NS. Corticosteroids, alkylating agents, cyclosporin A, and mycophenolate mofetil have often been used to treat NS, and these drugs have treatment-related complications. Early detection and appropriate treatment of these complications will improve outcomes for patients with NS.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.85-89
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• 2019

Purpose: We compared thyroid hormone profiles in children with nephrotic syndrome (NS) during the nephrotic phase and after remission. Methods: This study included 31 pediatric NS patients. The thyroid hormone profiles included serum levels of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and free T4. Results: Of the 31 patients, 16 (51.6%) showed abnormal thyroid hormone profiles: 6 had overt hypothyroidism, 8 had subclinical hypothyroidism, and 2 had low T3 syndrome. The mean serum T3, T4, and free T4 levels in the nephrotic phase and after remission were $82.37{\pm}23.64$ and $117.88{\pm}29.49ng/dL$, $5.47{\pm}1.14$ and $7.91{\pm}1.56{\mu}g/dL$, and $1.02{\pm}0.26$ and $1.38{\pm}0.23ng/dL$, respectively; the levels were significantly lower in the NS nephrotic phase (P=0.0007, P<0.0001, and P=0.0002). The mean serum TSH levels during the nephrotic phase and after remission were $8.05{\pm}3.53$ and $4.08{\pm}2.05{\mu}IU/mL$, respectively; they were significantly higher in the nephrotic phase (P=0.0005). The urinary protein/creatinine ratio during the nephrotic phase was significantly correlated with serum T3, T4, and free T4 levels (r=-0.5995, P=0.0032; r=-0.5797, P=0.0047; r=-0.5513, P=0.0078) as well as with TSH levels (r=0.5022, P=0.0172). A significant correlation was found between serum albumin and serum T3 levels during the nephrotic phase (r=0.5385, P=0.0018) but not between serum albumin and T4, TSH, or free T4 levels. These significant correlations all disappeared after remission. Conclusion: Abnormal thyroid hormone profile findings were observed in 51.6% of pediatric patients with NS. Thyroid hormone levels normalized after remission, regardless of levothyroxine therapy.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.8
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• pp.275-282
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• 2015

While the incidence of nephrotic syndrome (NS) is decreasing in Korea, the morbidity of difficult-to-treat NS is significant. Efforts to minimize treatment toxicity showed that prolonged treatment after an initial treatment for 2-3 months with glucocorticosteroids was not effective in reducing frequent relapses. For steroid-dependent NS, rituximab, a monoclonal antibody against the CD20 antigen on B cells, was proven to be as effective, and short-term daily low-dose steroids during upper respiratory infections reduced relapses. Steroid resistance or congenital NS are indications for genetic study and renal biopsy, since the list of genes involved in NS is lengthening.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2019

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is the most common glomerular disorder in childhood, and a vast majority of cases are idiopathic. The precise cause of this common childhood disease is not fully elucidated despite significant advancements in our understanding of podocyte biology. Idiopathic NS has been considered "a disorder of T-cell function" mediated by a circulating factor that alters podocyte function resulting in massive proteinuria since the last four decades. Several circulatory factors released from T-cells are considered to be involved in pathophysiology of NS; however, a single presumptive factor has not been defined yet. Extended evidence obtained by advances in the pathobiology of podocytes has implicated podocytes as critical regulator of glomerular protein filtration and podocytopathy. The candidate molecules as pathological mediators of steroid-dependent NS are CD80 (also known as B7-1), hemopexin, and angiopoietin-like 4. The "two-hit" hypothesis proposes that the expression of CD80 on podocytes and ineffective inhibition of podocyte CD80 due to regulatory T-cell dysfunction or impaired autoregulation by podocytes results in NS. Recent studies suggest that not only T cells but also other immune cells and podocytes are involved in the pathogenesis of MCNS.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2022

Dyslipidemia in nephrotic syndrome (NS) is often characterized by marked increases in the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and other lipoproteins, such as very low-density lipoprotein, intermediate-density lipoprotein, and lipoprotein(a). It has been suggested that impaired catabolism of lipoproteins and cholesterol is mainly due to decreased lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase activity, and increased biosynthesis of lipoproteins in the liver. The management strategies for dyslipidemia in patients with NS consist of lifestyle modification, lipid-lowering agents represented by statins, second-line agents such as fibrates and bile acid sequestrants, and lipid apheresis. Compared with dyslipidemia in adult NS patients, whose risks of atherosclerotic disease and progressive renal injury are considered high, clinical data on dyslipidemia in pediatric NS patients are limited. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to the evaluation and management of dyslipidemia in pediatric patients with NS in clinical practice.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2001

Nephrotic syndrome(NS) is characterized albuminuria, hypoalbuminemia, hyperlipidemia and edema. The thromboembolic complications of NS are reasonably common and have a broad range of clinical manifestations. The treatment of NS is empirical and symptomatic because the etiology and pathogenesis are unknown. We report treatment of patient who has been afflicted with NS for 20 years. He complained edema, dyspnea, Rt. hemiparesis, aphasia. We treated him with converting enzyme inhibitor, steroid, three kinds of herb-medicine for 45 days. The patient improved in clinical symptoms and routine chemistry, urine analysis test.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.7-21
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• 2019

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a common chronic glomerular disease in children characterized by significant proteinuria with resulting hypoalbuminemia, edema, and hyperlipidemia. Renal biopsy findings of diffuse foot processes effacement on electron microscopy and minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), or diffuse mesangial proliferation on light microscopy. It has been speculated that circulating permeability factors would be implicated in the pathogenesis of NS because they have been reportedly detected in the sera of patients and in experimental models of induced proteinuria. Moreover, a substantial portion of the patients with primary FSGS recurrence shortly after transplantation. This report reviews the current knowledge regarding the role of circulating permeability factors in the pathogenesis of proteinuria in NS and suggests future targeted therapeutic approaches for NS.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

Pediatric nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a clinical syndrome characterized by massive proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and generalized edema. Most childhood NS cases are idiopathic (with an unknown etiology). Traditional therapeutic approaches based on immunosuppressive agents largely support the key role of the immune system in idiopathic NS (INS), especially in the steroid-sensitive form. Although most previous studies have suggested the main role of T cell dysfunction and/or the abnormal secretion of certain glomerular permeability factors, recent studies have emphasized the role of B cells since the therapeutic efficacy of B cell depletion therapy in inducing and/or maintaining prolonged remission in patients with INS was confirmed. Furthermore, several studies have detected circulating autoantibodies that target podocyte proteins in a subset of patients with INS, suggesting an autoimmune-mediated etiology of INS. Accordingly, a new therapeutic modality using B cell-depleting drugs has been attempted, with significant effects in a subset of patients with INS. Currently, INS is considered an immune-mediated disorder caused by a complex interplay between T cells, B cells, soluble factors, and podocytes, which may vary among patients. More in-depth investigations of the pathogenic pathways of INS are required for an effective personalized therapeutic approach and to define precise targets for therapeutic intervention.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.7
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• pp.355-363
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• 2021

Background: Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a common renal disorder in children attributed to podocyte injury. However, children with the same diagnosis have markedly variable treatment responses, clinical courses, and outcomes, suggesting molecular heterogeneity. Purpose: This study aimed to explore the molecular responses of podocytes to nephrotic plasma to identify specific genes and signaling pathways differentiating various clinical NS groups as well as biological processes that drive injury in normal podocytes. Methods: Transcriptome profiles from immortalized human podocyte cell line exposed to the plasma of 8 subjects (steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome [SSNS], n=4; steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome [SRNS], n=2; and healthy adult individuals [control], n=2) were generated using microarray analysis. Results: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of global gene expression data was broadly correlated with the clinical classification of NS. Differential gene expression (DGE) analysis of diseased groups (SSNS or SRNS) versus healthy controls identified 105 genes (58 up-regulated, 47 down-regulated) in SSNS and 139 genes (78 up-regulated, 61 down-regulated) in SRNS with 55 common to SSNS and SRNS, while the rest were unique (50 in SSNS, 84 genes in SRNS). Pathway analysis of the significant (P≤0.05, -1≤ log2 FC ≥1) differentially expressed genes identified the transforming growth factor-β and Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription pathways to be involved in both SSNS and SRNS. DGE analysis of SSNS versus SRNS identified 2,350 genes with values of P≤0.05, and a heatmap of corresponding expression values of these genes in each subject showed clear differences in SSNS and SRNS. Conclusion: Our study observations indicate that, although podocyte injury follows similar pathways in different clinical subgroups, the pathways are modulated differently as evidenced by the heatmap. Such transcriptome profiling with a larger cohort can stratify patients into intrinsic subtypes and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms of podocyte injury.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.171-175
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• 2015

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a common chronic disease in children; in 90 percent of cases, the condition is primary (idiopathic). Toxic nephropathy can be induced by herbal medicines, and is mainly manifested as tubulointerstitial nephritis and rarely, as glomerulopathy. Here in, we describe two cases of steroid-sensitive NS, which developed after the patients received herbal medicines. A 5-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl were separately admitted within a short time period with acute onset of generalized edema, proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and hypercholesterolemia. Each patient had previously taken herbal medicine, which had been prescribed by different oriental medical clinics for different conditions. The patients were diagnosed with herbal medicine-induced NS and were treated empirically by a standard steroid therapy, with subsequent resolution of their NS. One patient relapsed, but her NS again responded to steroid therapy. We described two unusual cases of prototypical pediatric, steroid-sensitive NS, which was presumed to be minimal-change disease that developed after the administration of herbal medicines. We also reviewed the literature.