Nephrology & Therapeutics

Biography

Biography: Geraldo Bezerra da Silva Junior

Abstract

Kidney involvement is common in the course of many tropical diseases, which increases its morbidity and mortality. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is part of the classic severe forms of some diseases such as leptospirosis (Weil’s disease), malaria and viral hemorrhagic fevers. Different patterns of glomerular involvement have been described in many tropical diseases, including diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, and focal/segmental glomerulosclerosis. Diseases with a chronic pattern, such as leprosy and visceral leishmaniasis, frequently cause glomerulonephritis, including those described above and even less frequent lesions such as amyloidosis and IgA nephropathy. Renal tubular dysfunction has also been described as a consequence of tropical infections. Renal tubular acidosis, for example, is one of the initial manifestations in visceral leishmaniasis, which is usually asymptomatic and can also be found in other infectious diseases. Another important public health problem faced in tropical areas of the globe is animal poisoning. The more common are spider and snakebites, which can complicate with AKI. Recently, new biomarkers for early detection of kidney injury in tropical diseases have been investigated, including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), which seem to be promising tools to help Physicians to early detect kidney injury in the setting of tropical diseases and then adopt renal support measures as soon as possible and avoid severe complications such as end-stage renal disease and permanent dialysis need. In this plenary, we present important highlights from research in the field of Tropical Nephrology from Brazil.