Fogazzi Giovanni B, Bellincioni Cecilia
Unità Operativa di Nefrologia, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy.
Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2015 Nov;30(11):1893-6. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfv211. Epub 2015 May 10.
Aristolochia clematitis (AC), a herbaceous plant that belongs to the family of Aristolochiaceae, is today considered as being responsible for Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN). Very scarce information is available in the medical literature about the presence of AC outside Balkan area. This article reports on the finding of AC in Northwest Italy and the results of a questionnaire delivered to locals on their knowledge about AC.
AC was found in an uncultivated piece of land of a hilly area of Northwest Italy. It was identified by matching it with images available in the literature and Internet. The questionnaire, which was delivered with a set of 12 photographs and a bunch of true AC, contained 15 questions aimed at collecting information on the knowledge of the respondents about the existence, name, distribution and possible uses of AC.
A total of 23 locals, mostly farmers, were interviewed. Among them, 22 (95.6%) had already seen AC, mostly in uncultivated areas; 4 (18%) had a name for it; 21 (95.4%) considered it as a weed and denied any personal use of it; 18 (81.8%) stated that breeding animals disliked AC and no one was aware that AC might damage kidneys.
This study demonstrates that AC can be found outside the Balkan region and that people know it but today do not make any use of it. Other studies carried out by nephrologists in other geographic areas could expand our knowledge about AC outside the basin of BEN.
马兜铃（Aristolochia clematitis，AC）是一种属于马兜铃科的草本植物，如今被认为是巴尔干地方性肾病（BEN）的病因。医学文献中关于AC在巴尔干地区以外存在情况的信息非常稀少。本文报告了在意大利西北部发现AC的情况以及向当地人发放的关于他们对AC了解程度的调查问卷结果。
在意大利西北部一个山区的一块未开垦土地上发现了AC。通过将其与文献和互联网上的图片进行比对来进行鉴定。调查问卷配有一组12张照片和一束真正的AC，包含15个问题，旨在收集受访者关于AC的存在、名称、分布及可能用途的了解信息。
共采访了23名当地人，其中大多数是农民。他们中22人（95.6%）曾见过AC，大多是在未开垦地区；4人（18%）知道它的名字；21人（95.4%）认为它是一种杂草，否认个人有使用过；18人（81.8%）表示饲养的动物不喜欢AC，且没有人意识到AC可能损害肾脏。
本研究表明，在巴尔干地区以外也能发现AC，人们了解它，但如今并不使用它。其他地区的肾病学家开展的其他研究可能会扩展我们对BEN流域以外AC的认识。
