[Progression of renal insufficiency and platelet activating factor (PAF)]

An unresolved question of many medical nephropathies is the progression of chronic renal failure to end-stage renal insufficiency: every year many patients must be submitted to extracorporeal haemodialysis with a high cost for society. The control of so-called risk factors of progression, such as arterial hypertension, persistent proteinuria, renal infection etc. is not sufficient to prevent the progression to end-stage renal failure. The hypoproteic diet may retard this progression So currently the ability of physicians to alter the inexorable course of the disease is limited. In recent years medical research has shown that many mediators of phlogosis may play an important role in renal glomerular pathology. PAF seems to have a preeminent role. The aim of this study is to present the actual knowledge about the role played by PAF in renal physiology and pathophysiology with future perspectives on renal insufficiency progression.