Effect of hemoperfusion with coated and uncoated charcoal on human blood in vitro.

During 4 hours, in-vitro hemoperfusion of human blood was performed in 4 series of experiments: control, cellulose coated charcoal, polyacrylohydrogel coated charcoal and uncoated charcoal. In the control series little change on corpuscular elements and electrolytes was observed. In all hemoperfusion series there was little change of RBC and uniformly a marked fall of the granulocyte count. Platelet- and lymphocyte counts were significantly less affected by cellulose coated charcoal than by the other preparations. Coated and uncoated charcoal absorbed avidly calcium and glucose from the blood. By contrast the potassium level decreased moderately with polyacrylohydrogel coated and uncoated charcoal, whereas the opposite was observed with cellulose coated charcoal.

Reversal of deafness after renal transplantation in Alport's syndrome.

Six patients (five men and one woman) with Alport's syndrome underwent successful renal transplantation (four received kidneys from cadaver donors and two received allografts from living, related donors). One patient who had received a cadaver kidney had substantial hearing improvement and the others had stabilization of hearing. Hearing loss in Alport's syndrome is progressive. The reversal of deafness in one of our patients and stabilization in the others made us wonder whether an inherited enzymopathy had been reversed, which then mitigated the deafness.

The role of denervation in renal transplantation on renal function in the dog.

The role of denervation in renal transplantation on renal function in the dog was assessed in a controlled study. There was no significant difference between innervated and denervated kidney with regard to effective renal plasma flow, glomerular filtration rate, and urinary potassium excretion. However, urinary sodium excretion was elevated, and a significant increase in urinary bicarbonate excretion was observed in the in situ denervated or autotransplanted kidney compared with the innervated control kidney. Denervation rather than either tubular damage from the transplantation procedure or a decreased glomerular filtration rate probably is responsible in part for the observed posttransplant urinary sodium and bicarbonate loss and its associated metabolic problems.

Circulatory effects of vagal inflation reflex in man.

In five patients studied during cardiopulmonary bypass, lung inflation had no effect on heart rate or on total peripheral resistance. Changes of heart rate could be induced my manipulation of the right or left atrium.

Modification of vagal depressor reflex by CO2 in spontaneously breathing rabbits.

The control of hindlimb and renal vascular beds by vagal afferents was studied, in anesthetized spontaneously breathing rabbits in which the carotid sinus and aortic depressor nerves were cut, by measuring the increase in vascular resistance (constant-flow perfusion with autologous blood) during bilateral vagal cold block (VCB). The effect of hypercapnia was studied with both increased ventilation (caused by inspiration of mixtures of CO2 in O2) and decreased ventilation (caused by infusion of gallamine during O2 breathing). The increase in hindlimb resistance with VCB was correlated with respiratory minute volume but not with PCO2; the reverse was true for the increase in renal resistance. Without VCB the renal vessel constriction caused by the hypercapnia was markedly attenuated, provided that there were minimal respiratory movements; the resistance increased dramatically when these movements were abolished or with VCB. Thus, the powerful central effect of CO2 on the renal vessels can be counteracted by vagal afferents activated by lung movement; even minimal respiratory activity can cause this effect.