The perioperative and long-term risks for living kidney donors are of concern. We have studied donors at the University of Minnesota 20 years or more (mean 23.7) after donation by comparing renal function, blood pressure, and proteinuria in donors with siblings. In 57 donors (mean age 61 [SE 1]), mean serum creatinine is 1.1 (0.01) mg/dl, blood urea nitrogen 17 (0.5) mg/dl, creatinine clearance 82 (2) ml/min, and blood pressure 134 (2)/80 (1) mm Hg. 32% of the donors are taking antihypertensive drugs and 23% have proteinuria. The 65 siblings (mean age 58 [1.3]) do not significantly differ from the donors in any of these variables: 1.1 (0.03) mg/dl, 17 (1.2) mg/dl, 89 (3.3) ml/min, and 130 (3)/80 (1.5) mm Hg, respectively. 44% of the siblings are taking antihypertensives and 22% have proteinuria. To assess perioperative mortality, we surveyed all members of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons about donor mortality at their institutions. We documented 17 perioperative deaths in the USA and Canada after living donation, and estimate mortality to be 0.03%. We conclude that perioperative mortality in the USA and Canada after living-donor nephrectomy is low. In long-term follow-up of our living donors, we found no evidence of progressive renal deterioration or other serious disorders.
Notes
Comment In: Lancet. 1992 Nov 28;340(8831):1354-51360068
The relationships between objectively measured abdominal and gynoid adipose mass with the prospective risk of myocardial infarction (MI) has been scarcely investigated. We aimed to investigate the associations between fat distribution and the risk of MI.
Total and regional fat mass was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 2336 women and 922 men, of whom 104 subsequently experienced an MI during a mean follow-up time of 7.8 years.
In women, the strongest independent predictor of MI was the ratio of abdominal to gynoid adipose mass (hazard ratio (HR)=2.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.79-3.32 per s.d. increase in adipose mass), after adjustment for age and smoking. This ratio also showed a strong association with hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance and hypertriglyceridemia (P
INTRODUCTION: Abdominal obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia and hypertension. The prevalence of abdominal obesity and its relationship with these comorbidities have not previously been examined in Danish primary care patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The IDEA study was an international cross sectional study including 168,159 patients worldwide. In Denmark, 47 randomly selected general practitioners included 847 consecutive patients. Age, gender, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI) and the presence of known comorbidities were recorded for all patients. RESULTS: The prevalence of abdominal obesity (waist circumference = 80 cm for women and = 94 cm for men) was 66% among women and 60% among men. There was a significant relationship between the degree of abdominal obesity and the prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension for both sexes. There was a trend towards an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease with increased waist circumference. CONCLUSION: Abdominal obesity is very frequently found in Danish primary care patients, and it is associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Patients with increased waist circumference should be screened to diagnose comorbidities related to the abdominal obesity.
[A case of systemic lupus erythematosus with various central and peripheral neurological disorders presenting with motor paralytic bladder as a major manifestation]
Myelopathy is a rare central nervous system manifestation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We present a case of SLE, who developed motor paralytic bladder and various other neurological abnormalities. A 29-year-old female with SLE was admitted to our hospital because of complete dysuria without any troubles on defecation. Accelerated hypertension had been noticed 2 weeks before the admission. Physical examinations revealed that she had muscle weakness in right brachial biceps, bilateral carpal extensor and flexor, and flexor muscles of bilateral lower extremities. Slight sensory disturbance was present on her soles. Bilateral Chaddok and Babinski's signs were positive. Electromyographic studies including nerve conduction velocities of her limbs were normal, however, neurogenic discharges were observed in anal sphincter muscles. Cystometry demonstrated atonic bladder, but any pathological findings such as lupus cystitis and interstitial cystitis were not observed in the biopsied specimens from her bladder. Antibodies to single-stranded DNA, U1 RNP, Sm and SS-A/Ro were positive in her serum, and lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies (IgG) were also detected. In her cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), elevated protein level and albuminocytologic dissociation were recognized, while glucose level was low. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study detected high signal intensities in the inner part of medulla oblongata and in the spinal cord at second lumbar spine level. After two courses of methyl-prednisolone pulse therapy, the patient's neurological symptoms including dysuria had completely recovered and abnormal findings previously observed on MRI had also disappeared. After 7 months of the episode, she became normotensive. The proteins and glucose levels in her CSF had gradually returned to normal. Among patients with SLE, correlations of antiphospholipid antibodies with myelitis/myelopathy or accelerated hypertension have been reported. Therefore, possible roles of antiphospholipid antibodies were considered in the pathogenesis of neurologic abnormalities observed in our patient. In addition, low glucose level in CSF might be a good indicator for the diagnosis of lupus-associated myelopathy.
The paper deals with the study of specific features of ocular adaptive reactions under the conditions of the Far North. The author suggests that there should be 3 types of ocular adaptation in the North: (1) and (2) being at the individual level and (3) at the population level. Type 1 adaptation is usually observed within the first months of stay in the North. The ocular status of newcomers is characterized by lower hydrodynamic parameters: a tendency to intraocular vascular dystonia (the hypertensive type) is formed. Type 2 adaptation is generally seen after spending 10 years of stay in the North. Persistent physiological vascular reactions are formed (within the upper normal range). Organic disadaptive changes in microvasculature develop in a third of the new residents in the North. Type 3 hereditary long-term adaptation is observed in the indigenous residents of the North. The most optimum ratios of hemo- and hydrodynamic parameters along with definite changes in anatomic and functional indices form in them, which is reflected in the specific features of eye diseases.
Recent epidemiologic studies report a significant association between alcohol consumption and elevations in both systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a multivariate analysis of physical examination and other data on 721 men and 697 women aged 20 or more collected during the Canada Health Survey in 1978-1979. SBP and DBP were considered as separate dependent variables in multiple regression models with the following independent variables: age, alcohol consumption (measured as a 7-day recall history and as an average frequency of consumption), serum cholesterol, plasma glucose, physical activity, Quetelet index, parental history of hypertension, cigarette consumption, income, education, and exogenous hormonal use in women. In both weighted and unweighted multiple regression analyses, we could not demonstrate for either sex, a significant association between alcohol consumption (as recorded and following quadratic and logarithmic transformations) and either SBP or DBP. For both sexes, only age and Quetelet index were highly significantly (P less than 0.0001) and consistently associated with both SBP and DBP. No other independent variables were consistently associated, for either sex, with SBP and DBP. Further, the dose-response patterns noted by other investigators suggesting either a positive and linear relationship or a curvilinear relationship were not found in either our univariate or multivariate analyses. Rather, the alcohol-blood pressure curves showed no consistent patterns of any kind in either sex. These findings do not support recent claims that alcohol consumption is a determinant of elevations in either SBP or DBP.
