Neurodiagnostic Abnormalities in Patients with Acute Renal Failure: EVIDENCE FOR NEUROTOXICITY OF PARATHYROID HORMONE

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Abstract

Neurological abnormalities are a major cause of morbidity in patients with renal failure. The pathophysiology of these neurological changes is unclear, and the effects on them of dialysis and return of renal function have not been well studied. Studies were done in 31 patients who had acute renal failure (ARF), all of whom were either treated with dialysis within 5 days or did not survive. Studies on these patients included the electroencephalogram (EEG), motor nerve conduction velocity, and plasma Ca++ and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Studies were done at the time ARF was diagnosed, after stabilization on dialysis, during the diuretic phase of ARF, and 3 mo after recovery from ARF. In 16 patients with acute or chronic renal failure who did not survive and in nine patients without renal disease who died, measurements were made in brain of content of Na+, K+, Cl−, Ca++, Mg++, and water.

Authors

Jerry D. Cooper, Virginia C. Lazarowitz, Allen I. Arieff