ArticleAmerican journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation2013
Clinical and pathological characterization of Mesoamerican nephropathy: a new kidney disease in Central America.
Article in American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 205 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pediatric kidney health outcomes in communities impacted by chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu): a systematic review.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Pooled it
- Heterogeneity in diagnostic criteria for chronic kidney disease of undetermined etiology (CKDu): a systematic review of the literature.BMC nephrology · 2025Pooled it
- Pesticide exposures and chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology: an epidemiologic review.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2017Pooled it
- Safety of Stromal Vascular Fraction Cell Therapy for Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Cause (Mesoamerican Nephropathy).Stem cells translational medicine · 2023Trial
- Longitudinal assessment of kidney function in migrant farm workers.Environmental research · 2021Trial
- Impact of heatwave exposure on chronic kidney disease risk among middle-aged and older adults: evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study.BMC nephrology · 2026Article
- Kidney health among adolescents living in a high-risk region for CKDu.BMC nephrology · 2026Article
- Uncovering potential biomarkers for chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology through a network-based bioinformatic approach.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Effects of social determinants of health on the landscape of kidney disease.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2026Review
- Review
- One day of environment-induced heat stress causes injury to the murine kidney.Experimental physiology · 2025Article
- Longitudinal Estimated GFR Trajectories Among Workers at High Risk for CKD of Unknown Etiology.Kidney international reports · 2025Article
- Evolution of Chronic Kidney Disease in Different Regions of the World.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Acute Onset of Mesoamerican Nephropathy in a Patient With Chronic Gout and Occupational Exposure: A Case Report.Cureus · 2025Article
- Heat-induced kidney disease: Understanding the impact.Journal of internal medicine · 2025Review
- The unexpected diagnosis of karyomegalic interstitial nephritis in a presumed case of Mesoamerican Nephropathy: a case report.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Is mild dehydration a risk for progression of childhood chronic kidney disease?Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2024Review
- Nourishing Physical Productivity and Performance On a Warming Planet - Challenges and Nutritional Strategies to Mitigate Exertional Heat Stress.Current nutrition reports · 2024Review
- Effects of long-term dehydration and quick rehydration on the camel kidney: pathological changes and modulation of the expression of solute carrier proteins and aquaporins.BMC veterinary research · 2024Article
- Emerging Roles of Xanthine Oxidoreductase in Chronic Kidney Disease.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAn endemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD) of unknown cause among rural inhabitants in Central America has been identified. Young and otherwise healthy men working in plantations are frequently affected. The name Mesoamerican nephropathy (MeN) has been suggested. Clinically, MeN presents with low-grade proteinuria and progressive kidney failure. The renal pathology of this disease has not yet been described. STUDY
designCase series. SETTING &
participants8 male patients with CKD of unknown cause and clinically suspected MeN were recruited from a nephrology unit in El Salvador. All recruited patients had been working on plantations. Kidney biopsies, blood, and urine samples were collected. OUTCOMES & MEASUREMENTS: Renal morphology examined with light microscopy, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy; clinical and biochemical characteristics.
resultsA similar pattern was seen in all 8 biopsy specimens, with extensive glomerulosclerosis (29%-78%) and signs of chronic glomerular ischemia in combination with tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis, but only mild vascular lesions. Electron microscopy indicates podocytic injury. Biochemical workup showed reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (27-79 mL/min/1.73 m(2) with the CKD Epidemiology Collaboration [CKD-EPI] creatinine equation), low-grade albuminuria, and increased levels of tubular injury biomarkers. Hypokalemia was found in 6 of 8 patients. LIMITATIONS: Small number of patients from one country.
conclusionsThis study is the first report of the biochemical and morphologic findings in patients with MeN. Our findings indicate that MeN constitutes a previously unrecognized kidney disease with damage to both glomerular and tubulointerstitial compartments.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.