Two brothers with a recently described inborn error of metabolism characterized by glyceroluria, hyperglycerolemia, and generalized glycerol kinase deficiency had moderate psychomotor retardation, spasticity, growth failure, a nonspecific myopathy, osteoporosis, and adrenal insufficiency. Glycerol kinase activity in leukocytes and cultured fibroblasts was less than 5% of control values. Hepatic and renal tissue obtained at autopsy in one patient had similarly low enzyme activity. Thus the deficiency of glycerol kinase in these patients appears to be generalized and heritable, though the relationship of the clinical phenotype to the enzymatic defect is not yet established.
Responses of isolated aorta and portal vein (PV) to norepinephrine (NE), angiotensin II (AII), KCl, and CaCl2 were investigated in alloxan diabetic rats. Based on serum biochemical parameters (i.e., glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and creatinine) (alloxan, 150 mg/kg), diabetic rates were divided into three groups: 1) mildly diabetic at 1 week (only elevated glucose levels), 2) moderately diabetic at 4 wk (elevated glucose, triglycerides, and creatinine), and 3) severely diabetic at 8 wk (all serum biochemical parameters elevated). The sensitivity (i.e., ED50) of aortic smooth muscle from diabetic rats when compared to saline controls was 1) unchanged in mild diabetes; 2) decreased to KCl, AII, and CaCl2 in moderate diabetes; and 3) decreased to KCl, NE, and CaCl2 in severe diabetes. Ability of aortic smooth muscle to develop maximal contractions (i.e., contractility) to all these agonists was markedly diminished in severe diabetes. Spontaneous phasic contractions of PV from diabetic rats exhibited progressively greater tension as the disease advanced. Unlike aortas, contractility of PV to vasoactive agents was not affected at any stage of diabetes. PV sensitivity to AII in moderate diabetes and to Ca in severe diabetes was decreased when compared to saline controls. These differences in reactivity and contractility of aorta and PV in progressive stages of experimental diabetes could be due to alterations in calcium handling and its metabolism in arterial and venous smooth muscle cells in the diabetic state.
In order to determine the effect of dialysis on hearing acuity, 20 patients on chronic maintenance hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis were followed with hearing examinations every 6 months over a follow-up period of 1–4 years. While 70% of the study group had some measurable hearing loss at the beginning of the study, 75% of the patients showed no deterioration of hearing loss during the follow-up period. It is suggested that hearing deficits in chronic renal failure are common and multifactorial in etiology, and that most patients undergoing chronic dialysis show no further deterioration in hearing acuity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.