BACKGROUND. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease and there is an established association between vasculopathy affecting the kidney and eye. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel, rapid method for high-definition imaging of the retina and choroid. Its use in patients at high cardiovascular disease risk remains unexplored.METHODS. We used the new SPECTRALIS OCT machine to examine retinal and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, macular volume, and choroidal thickness in a prospective cross-sectional study in 150 subjects: 50 patients with hypertension (defined as a documented clinic BP greater than or equal to 140/90 mmHg (prior to starting any treatment) with no underlying cause identified); 50 with CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 8–125 ml/min/1.73 m2); and 50 matched healthy controls. We excluded those with diabetes. The same, masked ophthalmologist carried out each study. Plasma IL-6, TNF-α , asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), and endothelin-1 (ET-1), as measures of inflammation and endothelial function, were also assessed.RESULTS. Retinal thickness, macular volume, and choroidal thickness were all reduced in CKD compared with hypertensive and healthy subjects (for retinal thickness and macular volume P < 0.0001 for CKD vs. healthy and for CKD vs. hypertensive subjects; for choroidal thickness P < 0.001 for CKD vs. healthy and for CKD vs. hypertensive subjects). RNFL thickness did not differ between groups. Interestingly, a thinner choroid was associated with a lower eGFR (r = 0.35, P <0.0001) and, in CKD, with proteinuria (r = –0.58, P < 0.001) as well as increased circulating C-reactive protein (r = –0.57, P = 0.0002), IL-6 (r = –0.40, P < 0.01), ADMA (r = –0.37, P = 0.02), and ET-1 (r = –0.44, P < 0.01). Finally, choroidal thinning was associated with renal histological inflammation and arterial stiffness. In a model of hypertension, choroidal thinning was seen only in the presence of renal injury.CONCLUSIONS. Chorioretinal thinning in CKD is associated with lower eGFR and greater proteinuria, but not BP. Larger studies, in more targeted groups of patients, are now needed to clarify whether these eye changes reflect the natural history of CKD. Similarly, the associations with arterial stiffness, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction warrant further examination.TRIAL REGISTRATION. Registration number at www.clinicalTrials.gov: NCT02132741.SOURCE OF FUNDING. TR was supported by a bursary from the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam. JJMHvB was supported by a bursary from the Utrecht University. JRC is supported by a Rowling Scholarship. SB was supported by a Wellcome Trust funded clinical research fellowship from the Scottish Translational Medicine and Therapeutics Initiative, and by a Rowling Scholarship, at the time of this work. ND is supported by a British Heart Foundation Intermediate Clinical Research Fellowship (FS/13/30/29994).

A middle-aged woman with neutropenia and ataxia was found to have raised plasma zinc and profoundly low plasma copper concentrations. When found that she had been prescribed 135 mg zinc/day for seven years, a diagnosis of zinc-induced copper deficiency was made. After the zinc prescription was stopped, her copper and zinc concentrations and neutropenia normalized but she only had partial improvement in neurological status. The diagnosis of zinc-induced copper deficiency can be facilitated by the laboratory through measurement of plasma zinc concentration in patients with a low plasma copper concentration.

Background: Critically ill patients experience metabolic disorders including hypercatabolic state and hyperglycaemia and these are associated with poor outcome. Hyperglycaemia and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) are reported to have significant influences on endothelial dysfunction. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and related arginine metabolism in patients with critical illness.

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return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). In the primary analysis, mean DBP and max ETCO2 during the last 2 minutes prior to first shock were compared using receiver operating characteristic curves (area under curve (AUC)). In a secondary analysis, chest compression (CC) depth was compared to both DBP and ETCO2. Results: Survival was 19/30 (63%) animals (CPP20: 14/15 (93%); D51 5/15 (33%); p<0.01. hypoxic: 6/10 (60%); normoxic: 13/20 (65%); p=0.99). The optimal ROSC cut points were: DBP ≥ 26 mmHg (89% sensitive / 60% specific); ETCO2 ≥ 21 mmHg (89% sensitive / 27% specific). By AUC, mean DBP was superior to max ETCO2 (overall cohort: 0.86 vs. 0.37, p<0.01; hypoxic: 0.88 vs. 0.38, p<0.044; normoxic: 0.86 vs. 0.35, p<0.01), and both mean DBP (p<0.01) and ETCO2 (p=0.038) were superior to CC depth. Conclusions: In both hypoxic and normoxic models of VF, DBP was superior to ETCO2 in discriminating survivors from non-survivors, and both DBP and ETCO2 were superior to CC depth. ASYMMETRIC DIMETHYLARGININE, HOMOARGININE LEVELS AND ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IN OESOPHAGEC-TOMY PATIENTS.