ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical characteristics of hypertensive encephalopathy according to the underlying etiologies in children. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 33 pediatric patients who were diagnosed as having hypertensive encephalopathy in Chonbuk National University Children's Hospital. Among the patients, 18 were excluded because of incomplete data or because brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was not performed. Finally, 17 patients were enrolled and divided into a renal-origin hypertension group and a non-renal-origin hypertension group according to the underlying cause. We compared the clinical features and brain MRI findings between the 2 groups. RESULTS: The renal group included renal artery stenosis (4), acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (2), lupus nephritis (2), and acute renal failure (1); the nonrenal group included essential hypertension (4), pheochromocytoma (2), thyrotoxicosis (1), and acute promyelocytic leukemia (1). The mean systolic blood pressure of the renal group (172.5±36.9 mmHg) was higher than that of the nonrenal group (137.1±11.1 mmHg, P<0.05). Seizure was the most common neurologic symptom, especially in the renal group (P<0.05). Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), which is the most typical finding of hypertensive encephalopathy, was found predominantly in the renal group as compared with the nonrenal group (66.6% vs. 12.5%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the patients with renal-origin hypertension had a more severe clinical course than those with non-renal-origin hypertension. Furthermore, the renal-origin group was highly associated with PRES on brain MRI.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Acute Kidney Injury , Blood Pressure , Brain , Brain Diseases , Glomerulonephritis , Hypertension , Hypertensive Encephalopathy , Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute , Lupus Nephritis , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Neurologic Manifestations , Pheochromocytoma , Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome , Renal Artery Obstruction , Retrospective Studies , Seizures , ThyrotoxicosisABSTRACT
Zinc contained in the neurons of central nervous system is activity-dependently released and then attenuates NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate)-induced neurotoxicity while augmenting non-NMDA-induced neurodegeneration. Zinc also has been reported to produce antinociceptive action on the inflammation- and nerve injury-induced hyperalgesia in the behavioral test. In this study, we investigated the effects of zinc on the responses of dorsal horn cells to NMDA, kainate and graded electrical stimulation of C-fibers. In the majority of WDR cells (70.6%), zinc current-dependently inhibited WDR cell responses to NMDA and in the remaining cells, produced biphasic responses; excitation followed by inhibition. Zinc augmented the responses of WDR cells to iontophoretical application of kainate. The dominant effect of Zn2+ on the responses of WDR cells to C-fiber stimulation was excitatory, but inhibition, excitation-inhibition and no change of the responses to C-fiber stimulation were induced. Ca2+-EDTA antagonized the excitatory or inhibitory effects of Zn2+ on the WDR cell responses. These experimental findings suggest that Zn2+ modulates the transmission of sensory information in the rat spinal cord.