Acute osteolytic lesions following pancreatitis in a dialysis patient.

A 42-year-old man undergoing maintenance hemodialysis suffered an attack of acute pancreatitis. Convential treatment resulted in quick recovery. 10 days after its onset his hands and feet became swollen, hot, red and painful. Multiple intramedullary osteolytic lesions of the metatarsals, metacarpals and phalanges, with cortical destruction and a number of fractures were found. These lesions subsided over many weeks and did not recur. We believe that such acute osteolytic lesions following pancreatitis are not 'renal osteodystrophy' as such, but should be recognized as a possible complication in renal failure patients.

Familial aggregation of blood pressure in a highly inbred community, Abu Ghosh, Israel.

Abu Ghosh is a highly inbred community of more than 2000 Israeli Arabs in which all members are descendants of two brothers and in which individual blood pressures, rates of hypertension, and corresponding morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease are inordinately high. Accordingly, patterns of familial aggregation of blood pressure were investigated to determine if the population structure of this community might affect familial aggregation. In a study of children aged 2-14 years, significant familial aggregation of blood pressure was found in 797 children in 220 families. Intraclass correlation coefficients for systolic, Korotkoff IV and Korotkoff V diastolic blood pressures were 0.20, 0.21, and 0.26, respectively (all p less than 0.001). When correlated for Quetelet's index, the correlation coefficients were 0.21, 0.19, and 0.23, respectively (all p less than 0.001). Father-child correlation coefficients were 0.15, 0.18 and 0.12 with p-values of p = 0.003, p less than 0.001 and p = 0.024, respectively. Mother-child correlations were not significant. Adjustment for Quetelet's index increased the father-child correlations (p less than 0.001), but the mother-child correlations remained not significant. Although father-son correlations tended to be stronger than father-daughter correlations, and mother-daughter correlations tended to be stronger than mother-son correlations, these were trends and not statistically significant. Although the Abu Ghosh community is an extended family of common, known ancestry, the sib-sib aggregations were not different from those found in random families, but the father-child aggregations were unique and warrant further study.

Blood pressures in a highly inbred community--Abu Ghosh, Israel. 1. Original survey.

Abu Ghosh is an Israeli Moslem Arab village located 11 km west of Jerusalem. Its population of about 2,200 has a common ancestry and is highly inbred. Blood pressures, weights, heights and other pertinent data were recorded for 1,881 (93.3%) of 2,017 subjects aged two years and over who were available for study. Mean blood pressures in children up to the age of 15 years were similar to those reported elsewhere. Among adults, the prevalence of hypertension, especially diastolic hypertension, was high. The relative effects of genes and environment on familial similarity in blood pressures are discussed.