Effective Vascular Volume Research Articles

Pathogenesis and Diagnosis of Hyponatremia

This discussion emphasizes two aspects of hyponatremia: classification according to effective osmolality of the body fluid, and distinction between appropriate and inappropriate ADH secretion. Assessment of the effective osmolality is important because the main deleterious effect of hyponatremia is cell overhydration, which occurs only when the effective osmolality is reduced. Since most cases of hyponatremia are associated with low effective osmolality, cell overhydration is a hallmark of acute hyponatremia. On the other hand, one must be aware of other types of hyponatremia in which effective osmolality is either normal or even increased. Inappropriateness of ADH secretion is defined as ADH secretion that occurs despite low effective osmolality and normal or expanded effective vascular volume. ADH secretion that occurs in hyponatremia is deemed appropriate if the effective vascular volume is low. The use of laboratory parameters is much more reliable in determining effective vascular volume than is careful physical examination.

Serum Uric Acid Levels in Patients With Cirrhosis: A Reevaluation

It has been reported that the serum uric acid levels in patients with cirrhosis were decreased compared with healthy subjects. These studies suggested that the lower serum uric acid levels in cirrhotic patients were attributed mainly to an increased effective vascular volume, and consequently to an excessive renal clearance of uric acid. However, the previous observations are challenged by a recent hypothesis for the pathogenesis of hyperdynamic circulation and formation of ascites in cirrhosis. The current study was undertaken to reevaluate serum uric acid levels in patients with cirrhosis. Ninety-eight cirrhotic patients with normal renal functions were included in this study. All biochemical and hemodynamic data were utilized for analysis. The mean serum uric acid level (mean, 6.1+/-1.2 mg/dL; range, 2.7-9.1 mg/dL) was higher than that of the age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects (mean, 5.5+/-1.3 mg/dL; range, 2.9-8.1 mg/dL; p = 0.018). Using multiple regression analysis it was determined that the serum uric acid level was not related to the severity of liver disease, cardiac index, systemic vascular resistance, and hepatic venous pressure gradient but was related closely to age (r = 0.210, p = 0.026) and effective renal plasma flow (r = -0.677, p < 0.0001). Compared with cirrhotic patients without ascites, those with ascites had a significantly higher serum uric acid level (6.7+/-1.6 mg/dL vs. 5.6+/-1.7 mg/dL, p < 0.05) and lower effective renal plasma flow (396+/-125 mL/min vs. 445+/-149 mL/min, p < 0.05). In conclusion, for cirrhotic patients with normal serum creatinine levels, the current study shows that the mean serum uric acid level is higher than that of healthy control subjects. It is not related to the severity of liver failure and systemic and portal hemodynamics, but is related closely to renal functions, especially the renal plasma flow.

Evidence in hyponatremia related to inappropriate secretion of ADH that V1 receptor stimulation contributes to the increase in renal uric acid clearance.

In hyponatremia related to syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), hypouricemia is explained primarily by the high uric acid clearance rate that results from the decrease in tubular uric acid reabsorption. This modification of tubular handling of uric acid is considered to be induced by the increase in the "effective vascular volume". This study was designed to determine if V1-receptor stimulation participates in the development of a high uric acid clearance rate as in SIADH, in which the antidiuretic hormone acts on V1 and V2 receptors. Therefore, the urate clearance rate was measured in seven volunteers with 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (dDAVP)-induced hyponatremia, with dDVAP stimulating exclusively the V2 receptors (Group I), and in six patients with SIADH (Group II) during both normo- and hyponatremia. As expected, in both groups, the serum uric acid concentration decreased during hyponatremia, but did so to a larger extent in the patients with SIADH (-53% versus -29%, P < 0.02). Despite similar levels of hyponatremia (126 +/- 5 mmol/L and 125 +/- 5.5 mmol/L), of hypoproteinemia (64 +/- 5 g/L and 63 +/- 5 g/L) and of salt excretion (FENa, 0.66 +/- 0.28% and 0.73 +/- 0.25%), the urate clearance (8.3 +/- 3.3 mL/min) and the fractional excretion of filtered uric acid (5.7 +/- 2%) in Group I were not significantly different during hyponatremia than during normonatremia (6.4 +/- 1.5 mL/min and 5.4 +/- 0.9%). On the other hand, in Group II, both parameters were increased (17.8 +/- 2.9 mL/min and 19.6 +/- 5.3%; P < 0.001) and both values were higher than in the dDAVP-induced hyponatremia (P < 0.01). Additionally, the administration of a potent V1-receptor agonist (triglycyl-lysine-vasopressin) in a patient with central diabetes insipidus with preexisting dDAVP-induced hyponatremia produced a rapid increase of urate clearance. Because dDAVP acts only on the V2 receptors, these data suggest that the higher urate clearance observed during hyponatremia related to SIADH is not only the consequence of an increased "effective vascular volume," but that V1-receptor stimulation also contributes to it, by a mechanism that remains to be determined.

Salt Output in Relation to Salt Intake versus Salt Output Alone: Which Is a Better Predictor of Effective Vascular Volume?

Salt Output in Relation to Salt Intake versus Salt Output Alone: Which Is a Better Predictor of Effective Vascular Volume?

Influence of humoral and volume factors on altered osmoregulation of normal human pregnancy

These studies were designed to characterize mechanisms leading to decreased plasma osmolality (Posmol) and osmotic thresholds (T) for arginine vasopressin (AVP) release (TAVP) and thirst (Tthirst) in pregnancy. First, the influence of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), was tested in six nonpregnant women who received hypertonic saline during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle on two occasions (randomly allocated), once after 15,000 IU of hCG when Posmol, TAVP, and Tthirst decreased 6, 5, and 5 mosmol/kgH2O, respectively (P less than 0.01). In contrast, hCG pretreatment of males (n = 6) had no significant effect. Next, the role of decreased effective vascular volume (underfilling) was evaluated in seven women undergoing hypertonic saline infusion in the presence and absence of head-out water immersion (randomly allocated) during early and late pregnancy and postpartum. Posmol, TAVP, and Tthirst were not influenced by immersion and remained 10 mosmol/kgH2O lower in pregnancy (P less than 0.01). Central redistribution of intravascular volume consistently lowered hematocrit and rate of rise of PAVP per unit increment in Posmol (P less than 0.01). Although these data failed to support the hypothesis that the osmoregulatory change in human pregnancy is attributable to decrements in effective central volume (underfill), they do suggest that hCG may play a role.

Low Serum Creatinine Levels in Severe Hepatic Disease-Reply

In Reply —We are appreciative of Matz' comments on our study concerning abnormally low serum creatinine levels and increased creatinine clearance values in severe hepatic disease. He observed similar kinds of constellations of low serum levels of creatinine and uric acid, low serum urea nitrogen levels, and increased creatinine clearance values in patients with alcoholic liver disease, although the levels of creatinine were in the low range of normal. However, the background of the patients is somewhat different. Their patients were almost invariably suffering from acute alcoholic hepatitis, and some of them recovered, in contrast to our patients with severe liver disease. He suggested a causative role of increased effective vascular volume without giving an explanation as to how the body fluid volume could increase in their alcoholic patients. He also had no data regarding the glomerular filtration rate measured by a reliable method.

Validation of the fluorescent dye Hoechst 33342 as a vascular space marker in tumours.

The DNA-binding fluorescent dye Hoechst 33342 (H33342) has been used in a series of investigations of the vascular parameters of two murine tumours. This dye has been shown, to have a short half-life in the circulation (T1/2 less than 2 min), but is stably bound for at least 2 h after it enters cells. It can be used in morphometric studies on frozen sections to determine the effective vascular volume, the capillary fraction and the size distribution of blood vessels in each tumour. These latter two parameters cannot be deduced from the less labour intensive techniques using radioactive isotopes. The effective vascular volume perfused in 1 min by H33342 was compared with the volume perfused in 30 min with 51Cr labelled erythrocytes. Similar volumes were estimated with the two techniques in a murine carcinoma and in a sarcoma. Both techniques showed that the vascular volume decreased in larger tumours. The H33342 analysis of vessel size showed the decrease in capillary vessels in the carcinomas was even greater, falling from 70% in small tumours to 20% in larger tumours. The deteriorating vascular network in larger tumours is associated with an increasing fraction of necrotic tissue. Experiments in which the isotopes and dye were co-injected suggest that at 40 mgkg-1 the dye may rapidly lead to a partial shutdown of the tumour vascular bed. This is less marked with 20 mg kg-1. In spite of this effect there is in general a close correlation between the volumes perfused by labelled red blood cells and the fluorescent dye.

Relationship between aldosterone and sodium, potassium, and uric acid clearance in cirrhosis with and without ascites.

We have suggested that cirrhotic patients with high uric acid clearances had an increased effective vascular volume. This hypothesis was tested by studying the relationship between the excretion of uric acid, sodium, potassium, and aldosterone in cirrhosis. In 29 consecutive cirrhotic patients, of whom 17 had ascites, and in a control group, the logarithm of urinary sodium and aldosterone excretion highly correlated in control (r = -0.79, p less than 0.001) and cirrhotic patients without (r = -0.72, p less than 0.01) and with (r = -0.80, p less than 0.001) ascites. The regression line significantly shifted to the left in the cirrhotic patients (p less than 0.001). The urinary ratio K/K + Na also correlated with urinary aldosterone in controls (r = +0.66, p less than 0.001) and in cirrhotic patients (r = +0.77, p less than 0.001); this regression line shifted to the right in cirrhosis patients (p less than 0.02). The fractional uric acid excretion significantly correlated with urinary aldosterone only in cirrhotic patients (r = -0.76, p less than 0.001). These data confirmed the existence of hypoaldosteronism in many cirrhotic patients and are consistent with tubular hypersensitivity to aldosterone and emphasize the major role of the effective vascular volume in the control of urid acid clearance in cirrhosis.

Hypouricemia in neonates with syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone.

A prospective study of serum levels of uric acid in 23 hyponatremic neonates was performed. Infants on diuretic medications or with renal failure were excluded. The infants were separated into two groups: group I consisted of 11 neonates with clinical evidence of syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), (mean +/- SD serum sodium 127 +/- 1.36 mEq/liter). Group II included 12 infants with hyponatremia (mean serum sodium 128 +/- 1.10 mEq/liter) associated with decreased effective vascular volume manifest by a fractional sodium excretion less than 1%. The groups were similar for gestational and postnatal ages, birth weight, clinical conditions, and concurrent use of drugs. The serum urate concentration in neonates with SIADH was 2.46 +/- 0.54 mg/dl; serum urate concentration in group II infants was 8.49 +/- 2.45 mg/dL (p less than 0.001). Water restriction in the group I infants with SIADH resulted in a rise in mean serum urate concentration (p less than 0.001). Fractional excretion of urate was elevated during hyponatremia in the group I infants (to 78 +/- 0.13%) and fell to 51 +/- 0.08% after correction (p less than 0.001). In group I infants, a direct correlation was found between fractional excretion of urate and sodium (r = 0.7667, p less than 0.001). These results indicate that hypouricemia is common in infants with suspected SIADH and seems to be due to increased urate clearance secondary to volume expansion.

High uric acid and urea clearance in cirrhosis secondary to increased “effective vascular volume”

Since urea and uric acid clearance are affected by the effective intravascular volume, we measured the fractional urea and uric acid excretion in cirrhosis. High urea and uric acid clearances were observed in 30 and 55 percent, respectively, of 20 consecutive cirrhotic patients with normal renal function. In seven patients with a high fractional uric acid excretion, 5 mg of isosorbide dinitrate every four hours for 24 hours induced a significant increase in the serum uric acid level (from 3.7 ± 0.8 mg/dl to 4.4 ± 0.8 mg/dl; <0.001) with a concomitant decrease in the fractional uric acid excretion (from 14.0 ± 3.2 percent to 8.8 ± 3.1 percent; <0.02). During the same test, the blood urea level increased from 3.3 ± 1.1 mmol/liter to 4.1 ± 1.2 mmol/liter (p < 0.005) with a decrease in fractional excretion from 51 ± 4.5 percent to 39 ± 5 percent (p < 0.001). The oral intake of sulfinpyrazone in six of these patients induced a normal uricosuric response. In two cirrhotic patients with ascites, 40 mg of furosemide associated with a 24-hour severe water restriction was also shown to normalize the high fractional excretion of both urea and uric acid. In nine patients with ascites, we observed a significant increase in blood urea and uric acid concentration despite the absence of change in creatinine clearance once ascites was removed by diuretics. On the basis of these findings, we believe that the high fractional excretion of both urea and uric acid frequently observed in cirrhosis is related to an increase in the effective vascular volume.

High uric acid and urea clearance in cirrhosis secondary to increased “effective vascular volume”: Decaux G, Dumont I, Naeije N, Mols P, Melot C, Mockel J: Am J Med 1982; 73: 328–334

High uric acid and urea clearance in cirrhosis secondary to increased “effective vascular volume”: Decaux G, Dumont I, Naeije N, Mols P, Melot C, Mockel J: Am J Med 1982; 73: 328–334