New and old perspectives on acute renal failure.
The pathophysiology, course, and treatment of acute renal failure in humans differs substantially from the ischemia/reflow model of renal injury commonly studied in rats and mice. Acute renal failure in humans is best understood as the result of an exacerbation of the usual state of hypoxia in the renal medulla and medullary rays, leading to reversible tubular dysfunction and glomerular vasoconstriction. A secondary inflammatory cascade may also play an important role, though this has not yet been clearly shown in patients.
Epstein
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FH
Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. fepstein@caregroup.harvard.edu
D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000150:complications* / Q000266:history / Q000628:therapy; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000639:trends