Hemodialysis patients, nondialyzed azotemic patients and control subjects with chronic physical disabilities were tested in psychometric measures of attention, memory, and visuomotor speed and coordination. There was relatively little difference between the performance of dialysis patients and controls and no significant correlations were found between years of dialysis treatment and performance on any task. In contrast, nondialyzed azotemic patients were impaired on 9 of 14 tasks relative to controls and/or dialysis patients. Measured levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine were significantly correlated with the performance of nondialyzed azotemic patients on several tasks. These results demonstrate a relationship between degree of renal failure and cognitive and perceptual-motor functioning. The mild impairments evident in dialysis patients do not seem to be directly attributable to dialysis treatments. Rather, the onset of hemodialysis appears to have beneficial effects on neuropsychological function.

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Using a crossover design, 12 healthy male volunteers received 3 forms of quinine in 3 day courses in random sequence at weekly intervals. Enteric-coated tablets and gelatin capsules of quinine sulfate (540 mg base) were given orally every 8 hours for 3 days (1.62 gm base daily), and quinine dihydrochloride (490 mg base) was given as a continuous intravenous infusion every 8 hours for 3 days (1.47 gm base daily). Drug-related toxicity included headache, tinnitus, and liver dysfunction. Form-related toxicities were nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea with oral administration and ephemeral thrombophlebitis at the needle site with intravenous administration in 2 of 12 infusions. The plasma quinine levels were maximal at 72 hours with mean levels of 5.3,3.7, and 4.1 mg per liter for infusions, capsules, and tablets, respectively. Quinine by infusion resulted in significantly higher plasma levels than oral quinine. The plasma quinine concentrations during administration of capsules and tablets were not significantly different. Recovery of quinine in the urine was 18%, 14%, and 10% for intravenous, capsule, and tablet forms, respectively.