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Biomedical subjects

K G Dorst

Publications and source records attributed to K G Dorst.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Nocturnal hypertension in renal failure, haemodialysis and after renal transplantation.

Diurnal blood pressure variations in 20 patients with advanced renal failure, 20 patients on chronic haemodialysis, and 21 renal transplant recipients were compared with those of matched control groups without renal disease, using 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Whereas the blood pressure during the day (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) was roughly the same in the patients compared with their respective control groups, during the night (from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.) it was substantially higher in all patient groups. The differences between the mean daytime and night-time values were significantly lower in the patients (P less than 0.05 to P less than 0.001). The nocturnal blood pressure decrease may be attenuated or even reversed in renal failure, in haemodialysis and after renal transplantation. In a proportion of these patients, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring showed an elevated nocturnal blood pressure, which may require some modification of treatment.

Blood Pressure

[Medical and psychosocial effects of methadone substitution in HIV infected substance-dependent patients].

After an average observation time of 12 months we can confirm that methadone substitution on an outpatient basis has proved significantly useful for a majority of chronically intravenously opiate-dependent HIV-infected patients of the stages CDC IV or WR 3-6 if methadone is given under controlled conditions, the improvement consisting in an amelioration of certain medical and psychosocial parameters. In 25 out of 30 patients methadone substitution resulted in termination of the previously existing intravenous heroin addiction. In the further course of treatment one of these 25 patients could then be induced to undergo a methadone withdrawal course followed by long-term withdrawal therapy. Since the patients were no longer dependent on heroin, they were no longer compelled to procure it under all circumstances, so that crime and prostitution connected with the pressure to obtain heroin by all means were now superfluous. This provided the most important prerequisites for medical and social care for the patients. The decisive factors determining the effectivity of substitution and hence a successful stabilisation are the integration of the patient in a network of care including the family doctor, outpatient HIV care by a relevant clinic, drug advice centre of AIDS help, and a Public Health Office. This also guarantees that the patients act responsibly in respect of their AIDS infection. In very few patients the permanent success of the treatment was at high risk due to unsatisfactory social care, lack of social security measures, progression of the underlying disease, a too low methadone dosage level, and partnership conflicts.

Adult

Twenty-four-hour blood pressure is not dependent on endogenous circadian rhythm.

The effects of shifted working and sleeping phases on the diurnal blood pressure rhythm were investigated in 15 physically working industrial shift workers at a slowly rotated three-shift system. Ambulatory 24-h blood pressure monitoring was performed during the morning and night shifts. In the two shifts the mean 24-h blood pressure was identical. There were no differences in the blood pressure levels in the sleeping phases or in the working periods between the two 24-h cycles. Diurnal blood pressure fluctuations had equal amplitudes. Corresponding to the lag between the working period there was a phase difference of 8 h between the 24-h blood pressure curves. At this lag, there was a high correlation between the mean hourly blood pressure values (r = 0.683). Twenty-four-hour blood pressure curves during the first and last day of a night shift were nearly equal. Thus the effects of shift rotation on the 24-h blood pressure profile were fully expressed within the first 24 hours. The immediate and complete adaptation of the 24-h blood pressure curve to shifted activity and sleeping phases indicates that activity determines the diurnal blood pressure profile. The blood pressure is largely independent of internal circadian rhythm.

Adaptation, Physiological

Can secondary hypertension be identified by twenty-four-hour ambulatory pressure monitoring?

Circadian blood pressure rhythms were examined in subjects exhibiting various forms of secondary and essential hypertension and in normotensive subjects with and without renal disease. Indirect ambulatory blood pressure recordings were performed in 284 subjects for 24 h. In contrast to patients with essential hypertension and to normotensive healthy subjects, the circadian fluctuations of blood pressure were reduced in secondary hypertensives and in normotensive renal patients. In renal hypertensives, these alterations in the diurnal blood pressure variations were dependent on the degree of renal failure. Calculations based on comparisons of the mean sleeping and mean daytime blood pressures identified 89.8% of the essential hypertensives and 72.5% of the patients with secondary hypertension. A large proportion of the patients with secondary hypertension had very high blood pressure levels during sleep, in many cases even exceeding the daytime levels. Thus, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure curves from patients with secondary and essential hypertension can be distinguished from each other. In secondary hypertension, blood pressure monitoring during both day and night is particularly useful for evaluating frequently severe nocturnal hypertension, which may require particular treatment.

Blood Pressure Determination

[Late metastasis of an extragonadal Leydig cell tumor].

The case of a 36-year-old patient who underwent extirpation of a Leydig cell tumor of the epididymis is presented. Five years later a retroperitoneal mass was removed, which was found to be a metastatic Leydig cell carcinoma. The literature conrains reports of only 32 cases of metastatic Leydig cell tumors, all of which had originated in the testis and not extragonadally. The symptoms, treatment and prognosis are discussed with reference to the literature.

Adult

Intracellular calcium in hypertension: effect of treatment with beta-adrenoreceptor blockers.

In 41 essential hypertensive patients, the intraerythrocytic free calcium (aiCa2+) was determined before and after oral treatment with beta-adrenoreceptor blockers (atenolol, metipranolol, and pindolol). The measurements were performed by means of an ion-selective electrode. During the 4 weeks of treatment, the aiCa2+ decreased from 7.4 +/- 2.3 (mean +/- SD) to 4.1 +/- 1.7 mumol/l (p less than 0.001) in the total group of 41 patients. In the patients treated with atenolol (n,15), the aiCa2+ decreased from 7.1 +/- 1.8 to 4.4 +/- 1.7 mumol/l (p less than 0.001); in those treated with metipranolol (n,13), aiCa2+ decreased from 7.4 +/- 2.7 to 4.3 +/- 2.0 mumol/l (p less than 0.001); and in those treated with pindolol (n,13), aiCa2+ decreased from 7.6 +/- 2.4 to 3.8 +/- 1.5 mumol/l (p less than 0.001). In the total group, the mean reduction of the mean blood pressure was 12 mm Hg. In the atenolol subgroup, the blood pressure was reduced by 11 mm Hg, in the metipranolol subgroup by 15 mm Hg, and in the pindolol subgroup by 18 mm Hg. Thus, the reduction of the blood pressure during beta-adrenoreceptor blockade is accompanied by a reduction of the free calcium of the red cells. The calcium lowering effect as the antihypertensive potency is roughly equal among the different beta-adrenoreceptor blockers.

Adolescent