Clinical analysis of 17 cases of Gitelman syndrome / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the clinical and laboratory characteristics of Gitelman syndrome.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventeen patients with Gitelman syndrome (male/female: 11/6) were analyzed for their clinical symptoms, laboratory test results, imaging findings, treatments and outcomes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Fifteen of the 17 patients presented with varying degrees of lower limb weakness, and 8 experienced flaccid paralysis. The laboratory tests showed hypokalemia (17/17), hypomagnesemia (17/17) and hypocalcemia (17/17). Blood renin activity (17/17), angiotensin II (14/17) and aldosterone levels (7/17) were significantly higher in the patients than in normal subjects. The symptoms were relieved by potassium alone or in combination with indomethacin, spironolactone and other potassium magnesium asparaginate, but the serum potassium and magnesium failed to recover the normal levels after the treatments.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The primary clinical manifestations of Gitelman syndrome are lower extremity weakness with hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia. Combined drug therapies including potassium, magnesium, aldosterone antagonists and other drugs are recommended. The prognosis of the patients is favorable.</p>

Effects of potassium aspartate and magnesium on ventricular arrhythmia in ischemia-reperfusion rabbit heart / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

The aim of this study was to determine if the potassium aspartate and magnesium (PAM) prevent reperfusion-induced ventricular arrhythmias (RIVA) in ischemia-reperfusion (IR) rabbit heart. Thirty rabbits were randomly divided into control, ischemia and PAM groups. Arterially-perfused rabbit left ventricular preparations were made, and transmural ECG as well as action potentials from both endocardium and epicardium were simultaneously recorded in the whole process of all experiments. In control group rabbit ventricular wedge preparations were continuously perfused with Tyrode's solution, and in ischemia group and PAM groups the perfusion of Tyrode's solution was stopped for 30 min. Then the ischemia group was reperfused with Tyrode's solution and the PAM group with Tyrode's solution containing 2.42 mg/L PAM, respectively. ECG, QT interval, transmural repolarization dispersion (TDR) and action potentials from epicardium and endocardium were simultaneously recorded, and the RIVA of the wedge preparation was observed. Compared with control group, TDR and incidence of RIVA were significantly increased in ischemia group (P<0.05). The incidence of RIVA in control, ischemia and PAM group was 0/10, 9/10 and 1/10, respectively. Compared with ischemia group, TDR and incidence of RIVA were significantly reduced in PAM group (P<0.05). Potassium aspartate and magnesium significantly reduce TDR and prevent ventricular arrhythmia in ischemic rabbit heart.