Long-term mortality and incidence of renal dialysis and transplantation in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

AIMS: We investigated long-term mortality and requirement of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) to study risk factors and late complication incidence of T1DM in a prospective cohort study at Lainz Hospital, Vienna, Austria. METHODS: In 1983-1984, T1DM patients [n = 648; 47% females, 53% males; age, 30 +/- 11 yr; T1DM duration, 15 +/- 9 yr; body mass index, 24 +/- 4 kg/m(2); glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), 7.6 +/- 1.6%] were stratified into HbA1c quartiles [1st, 5.9 +/- 0.5% (range, 4.2-6.5%); 2nd, 6.9 +/- 0.3% (6.6-7.4%); 3rd, 7.9 +/- 0.3% (7.5-8.4%); and 4th, 9.6 +/- 1.3% (8.5-14.8%)]. Twenty years later, both endpoints (death and RRT) were investigated by record linkage with national registries. RESULTS: At baseline, creatinine clearance, blood pressure, and body mass index were comparable among the HbA1c quartiles, whereas albuminuria was more frequent in the 4th quartile (+15%; P < 0.03). After the 20-yr follow-up, 13.0% of the patients had died [rate, 708 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 557-859)], and 5.6% had received RRT [311 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 210-412)]. Patients with the highest HbA1c values (4th quartile) had a higher mortality rate and a greater incidence of RRT (P < 0.04). In the Cox proportional hazards analysis, age, male gender, increased HbA1c, albuminuria, and reduced creatinine clearance were predictors of mortality (P < 0.05). Predictors of RRT were albuminuria (P < 0.001), reduced creatinine clearance (P < 0.001), and belonging to the 4th HbA1c quartile (P = 0.06). In Kaplan-Meier analysis, mortality was linearly associated with poor glycemia, whereas RRT incidence appeared to rise at a HbA1c threshold of approximately 8.5%. CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: In the Lainz T1DM cohort, 13.0% mortality and 5.6% RRT were directly associated with and more frequently found in poor glycemia, showing that good glycemic control is essential for the longevity and quality of life in T1DM.

A characteristic membrane protein of liver peroxisomes inducible by clofibrate.

In sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis the membranes of rat liver peroxisomes show nine main protein bands (40 000--100 000 dalton); the 40 000-dalton polypeptide cannot be resolved from the membrane by deoxycholate. Treatment of the rats with clofibrate largely increases this protein and another one (about 80 000 dalton) in the peroxisomal but not in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Proliferation of peroxisomes seems to be connected with the insertion of specific proteins into the membrane.

Beta-oxidation in peroxisomes of brown adipose tissue.

Peroxisomes and mitochondria from brown adipose tissue of the rat were separated by differential pelleting and isopycnic gradient centrifugation. Both fractions oxidized palmitoyl-CoA with comparable specific activities. Unlike the mitochondrial beta-oxidation the peroxisomal activity was not influenced by carbon monoxide. Peroxisomal beta-oxidation together with carnitine acetyl-transferase, which is also located in peroxisomes, might be involved in chemical thermogenesis by delivering acetyl groups to the mitochondria.

Enhancement of NAD-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase activity in rat liver by clofibrate feeding.

After feeding rats for 3 weeks with clofibrate specific activities of the liver mitochondrial enzymes glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) and NAD-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (NAD-ICDH) were found to be increased in a large particle fraction 6-fold and 1.6-fold, respectively, whereas the activity of NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP-ICDH) remained unchanged. Possibly these effects contribute to the hypolipidemic action of clofibrate.

Calcium free hemodialysis: an effective therapy in hypercalcemic crisis--report of 4 cases.

Hypercalcemic crisis represents a medical emergency. If conservative treatment is ineffective, low calcium bath or zero calcium bath hemodialysis are good alternatives. We report 4 patients treated with calcium free acetate hemodialysis because of hypercalcemic crisis due to breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis of the liver and immobilisation with hydrochlorothiazids' medication. Following 3 h of hemodialysis, serum calcium concentrations fell from a mean value of 3.96 (range 3.53-4.46) mmol/l to 2.71 (2.28-3.12) mmol/l. In 2 patients rapid clinical improvement was achieved and in one oliguric patient diuresis started spontaneously during hemodialysis. One patient died from gram-negative sepsis. In 3 cases the subsequent conservative treatment was sufficient to maintain serum calcium levels within the normal range. Together with the previously reported cases (5 patients treated by hemodialysis with low dialysate calcium and 3 patients by hemodialysis with calcium free dialysate) our experience indicates that hemodialysis is an effective and safe therapy for hypercalcemic crisis.

Clinical biochemistry of peroxisomal disorders.

Peroxisomes have been shown to participate in a variety of pathological processes. Peroxisomal anomalities are central features of Zellweger's cerebro-hepato-renal syndrome, neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy, infantile Refsum's disease and several other genetic metabolic disorders (pseudo-Zellweger syndrome, Leber congenital amaurosis, cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata). In disorders with general loss of peroxisomal functions (Zellweger syndrome, neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy, infantile Refsum's disease) an accumulation of very long-chain fatty acids and pathological bile acids are found. Patients have a defective synthesis of plasmalogens and show increased excretion of dicarboxylic acids of medium chain length and of pipecolic acid in the urine. These anomalities which are due to the lack of peroxisomal enzymes, supply the basis for clinical laboratory tests. The study of these peroxisomal disorders has presented valuable information on the normal function of peroxisomes.

Portal hypertension due to traumatic hepatic arterioportal fistula: report of successful embolization.

We report a case of severe portal hypertension due to a post-traumatic hepatic arterioportal fistula. A 77-year-old male patient was admitted for abdominal pain, inappetence and weight loss. Further clinical signs were ascites and splenomegaly. Sonography showed a marked enlargement of an arterioportal fistula, which was diagnosed some years before as a consequence of abdominal trauma during the Second World War. Angiography demonstrated an imposing dilatation of the right hepatic artery filling an intrahepatic pseudoaneurysmatic cavity with fistula formation to the portal vein. By means of selective hepatic artery embolization, complete occlusion of the right hepatic artery and the arterioportal fistula was achieved. Within 4 weeks the patient recovered and sonography showed disappearance of ascites and splenomegaly.

The influence of ACE-inhibition on myocardial mass and diastolic function in chronic hemodialysis patients with adequate control of blood pressure.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the specific effect of the ACE-inhibitor lisinopril on myocardial mass and diastolic function in uremic patients using a protocol designed to leave blood pressure unchanged. Nineteen hemodialysis patients (7 males; mean age: 55 +/- 13 years; mean time on dialysis: 44 +/- 35 months) received lisinopril for 6 months in addition to their preexistent antihypertensive treatment regimens (mean: 1.4 +/- 0.8 drugs). Doses of antihypertensive drugs were adjusted to keep both systolic and diastolic blood pressure stable. Nine patients were withdrawn from lisinopril treatment after 43 +/- 33 days because of hypotension (n = 4), withdrawn consent (n = 3), stroke (n = 1) and cough (n = 1). Seven of them were further studied as controls. Ten patients received 6.4 +/- 4 mg lisinopril as a mean for 6 months. Mean myocardial mass, calculated by M-mode echocardiography, was 324 +/- 103 g before, and 313 +/- 79 g after 6 months of lisinopril treatment. In the control patients, myocardial mass was 318 +/- 110 g initially, and after 6 months, it was 334 +/- 159 g. Early and late transmitral diastolic flow velocities were not significantly influenced by lisinopril. Throughout the study, both the systolic and diastolic 24-h mean blood pressure levels remained stable (systolic: before: 145 +/- 19 mmHg, at 6 months: 147 +/- 17 mmHg; diastolic: before: 87 +/- 12 mmHg, at 6 months 87 +/- 10 mmHg). Thus, no specific effect of lisinopril on regression of myocardial hypertrophy or improvement of diastolic function could be observed within a 6-month period in this small group of hemodialysis patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of hypolipidaemics cetaben and clofibrate on mitochondrial and peroxisomal enzymes of rat liver.

Clofibrate or cetaben was administered to male rats for 10 days. Peroxisomal and mitochondrial enzymes were assayed in liver subcellular fractions. Clofibrate affected the specific activities of both mitochondrial enzymes (glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and nicotinamide-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase) and peroxisomal enzymes (fatty acyl-CoA oxidase, glycerone phosphate acyltransferase, urate oxidase, and D-amino-acid oxidase). In contrast, cetaben raised only the peroxisomal enzymes, acyl-CoA oxidase, glycerone-phosphate acyltransferase, D-amino-acid oxidase, catalase, and urate oxidase. Thus, the hypolipidaemic activity of these drugs may be exclusively related to stimulated peroxisomal functioning, while mitochondria play only a minor role.

Cranial and cervical nerve injuries: local complications of carotid artery surgery.

Injury to the nervous structures extending through the operative field or in areas adjacent to it constitutes a local complication in surgery of the carotid artery. These lesions may become, after an otherwise well-tolerated reconstruction, the source of severe and, occasionally even permanent, complaints. In a series of 536 operations of the carotid artery, 14.4% of transient and 6% of permanent injuries to some of the distal cranial and cervical nerves occurred. The highest injury rate was observed in the hypoglossal nerve (8.6%), followed by the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve (6.2%) and the vagus nerve with its superior and recurrent laryngeal branches (3.7% of cases). Injury to the glossopharyngeal nerve and the greater auricular nerve occurs very rarely. A thorough knowledge of the topographic and anatomical situation combined with a cautious operation technique may lower the frequency of these lesions. That is why the essential data on the anatomy, function and the most frequent causes of injury to the individual nerves sustained during surgery within the trigonum caroticum are presented in this article.

EXternal iliac "steal syndrome".

A case of steal syndrome in the external iliac artery characterized by distinct clinical symptoms and by a reversal of blood flow in the internal iliac artery secondary to the closure of the common iliac artery, has been described. The patient reported marked decrease in sexual activity and impariment of erection in addition to intermittent claudication of the corresponding lower extremity. He was able to achieve and maintain an erection only with absolute rest. The erection disapperaed immediately when he moved his lower extremities. Endarterectomy of the common external and internal iliac arteries along with an aortofemoral bypass, resulted in disapperrance of both claudication and his sexual impotence.

Surgical treatment of post-infarction ventricular septal rupture.

The authors describe their series of 9 patients operated upon for post-infarction rupture of the ventricular septum. Two patients operated upon earlier than 6 weeks following the rupture died. Of the 7 patients operated upon 6 weeks after the diagnosis of rupture 1 died. The risk of operative intervention is determined not only by the time between rupture and surgery, but also by the magnitude of rupture and the extent of the myocardial infarction, as well as the functional state of the residual myocardium.

Sudden onset of paralysis in a twenty year-old male patient.

We report on a twenty year-old male patient who presented with sudden onset of flaccid paralysis. After exclusion of central nervous system involvement, marked hypokalemia pointed to the diagnosis of hypokalemic periodic paralysis, which was completely reversible on oral and parenteral potassium substitution. A provocation test with glucose and insulin administration leading to hypokalemia and incipient paralysis of the limbs confirmed the diagnosis. Pathogenetically, this syndrome is characterized by an excessive shift of potassium ions into the muscle cells. Therapeutic measures include potassium-sparing diuretics, beta blockers, acetazolamide or diclofenamide. In less severe cases, oral potassium may be sufficient to reverse the symptoms.

[Comparison between ambulatory 24-hour blood pressure measurement and occasional blood pressure measurement in hemodialysis patients with left heart hypertrophy]. / Vergleich zwischen ambulanter 24-h-Blutdruckmessung und Gelegenheitsblutdruckmessung bei Hämodialysepatienten mit Linksherzhypertrophie.

Since 24-hour blood pressure monitoring seems to be superior to occasional blood pressure measurement as far as risk stratification is concerned, we compared the two methods in patients with secondary hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy. In 26 haemodialysis patients (12 male, mean age 54 +/- 13 years), the mean occasional blood pressure values during haemodialysis were 147 +/- 18/82 +/- 9 mmHg, the mean 24-hour blood pressure values were 145 +/- 21/ 85 +/- 13 mmHg, during the day 145 +/- 23/86 +/- 13, during the night 143 +/- 25/81 +/- 13 mmHg. The nocturnal reduction of mean blood pressure was -3.6 +/- 7%. Both methods of blood pressure monitoring showed a significant correlation with the relevant echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular hypertrophy, cardiac mass and interventricular septum diameter. Patients with and without a nocturnal reduction in blood pressure could not be differentiated by the mean occasional blood pressure values. Therefore, 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring seems warranted in this high risk group, especially to monitor antihypertensive drug therapy.

[Recurrence of pseudotumour cerebri (intracranial hypertension) after renal transplantation (author's transl)]. / Wiederholte intrakranielle Drucksteigerung (Pseudotumor cerebri) nach Nierentransplantation.

The case report is presented of a 24-year-old male who developed the clinical signs and syptoms of pseudotumour cerebri (intracranial hypertension) twice during the course of protracted rejection 1 and 4 months after renal transplantation. Clinically, headache, nausea, hypertensive crisis and, finally, severe coma with an acute mid-brain syndrome was observed. Neurologically a mild left-sided hemiparesis was found on the second occasion. Examination of the fundi revealed bilateral papilloedema. Electroencephalograms showed pathological changes of a diffuse nature, later followed by abnormal delta range activity in the right frontotemporal projection. The withdrawal of corticosteroid therapy may have been responsible for the pseudotumour cerebri in this case.

[Aneurysm of the cystic artery as a rare cause of hemobilia]. / Aneurysma der Arteria cystica als seltene Ursache einer Hämobilie.

A 52-year old woman was admitted to the hospital because of upper abdominal pain and hematemesis. Laboratory parameters showed marked cholestasis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) lead to the diagnosis of hemobilia. CT-scan and angiography revealed an aneurysm of the cystic artery as the cause of hemobilia. Cholecystectomy was performed because of concomitant cholecystitis. Anatomical examination confirmed clinical diagnosis.

[Echocardiographic detection of wedged emboli in the right heart in patients with pulmonary embolisms]. / Echokardiografický prukaz zaklínených embolu v pravém srdci u nemocných s plicní embolií.

The authors describe two case-histories of patients with the clinical picture of pulmonary embolism where on echocardiography a mobile formation in the right atrium was detected. In both patients the embolus of peripheral origin wedged in the right atrium was removed by surgery.

[Coronary surgery at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine]. / Koronární chirurgie v IKEM.

In 1971-1991 in the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine 2386 operations on account of IHD were performed. 2154 aortocoronary bypasses, 6 Vineberg operations, 51 valvular prostheses and aortocoronary bypasses, 128 resections of left ventricular aneurysms and 47 closures of post-infarction perforations of the interventricular septum. The mortality from aortocoronary bypasses during the entire period was 6.9%. The authors discuss different periods, changes of the operative technique and contemporary views on surgical treatment of IHD.

Senescence rates in patients with end-stage renal disease: a critical appraisal of the Gompertz model.

The most frequently used model to describe the exponential increase in mortality rate over age is the Gompertz equation. Logarithmically transformed, the equation conforms to a straight line, of which the slope has been interpreted as the rate of senescence. Earlier, we proposed the derivative function of the Gompertz equation as a superior descriptor of senescence rate. Here, we tested both measures of the rate of senescence in a population of patients with end-stage renal disease. It is clinical dogma that patients on dialysis experience accelerated senescence, whereas those with a functional kidney transplant have mortality rates comparable to the general population. Therefore, we calculated the age-specific mortality rates for European patients on dialysis (n=274 221; follow-up=594 767 person-years), for European patients with a functioning kidney transplant (n=61 286; follow-up=345 024 person-years), and for the general European population. We found higher mortality rates, but a smaller slope of logarithmic mortality curve for patients on dialysis compared with both patients with a functioning kidney transplant and the general population (P<0.001). A classical interpretation of the Gompertz model would imply that the rate of senescence in patients on dialysis is lower than in patients with a functioning transplant and lower than in the general population. In contrast, the derivative function of the Gompertz equation yielded the highest senescence rates for patients on dialysis, whereas the rate was similar in patients with a functioning transplant and the general population. We conclude that the rate of senescence is better described by the derivative function of the Gompertz equation.