It has been assumed that the molecular weight (MW) cut-off of a newly fabricated polysulfone capillary dialyzer (F60, Fresenius, FRG) is similar to that of the human glomerulus. We recently tested the device in vivo and found this not to be so, based on the device's ability to eliminate substances of a MW of 10,000 to 60,000 daltons. One of the reasons for this discrepancy was found to be the influence of secondary membrane formation on solute permeability. Endogenous marker substances of a defined MW (beta 2-microglobulin, myoglobin, RBP, alpha 1-microglobulin, acid alpha 1-glycoprotein, alpha 1-antitrypsin, prealbumin, and albumin were measured by laser nephelometry or radioimmune assay; sieving coefficients (SC) and protein eliminations were calculated for each low MW protein.

The data suggest that tetrahydroaldosterone is the most reliable screening test for PA. Tetrahydroaldosterone determination in combination with aldosterone-18-glucuronide and free aldosterone increases diagnostic specificity for PA. Potassium, renin, plasma aldosterone, and basal PARR are inadequate screening procedures because they are subject to high rates of false-positive and false-negative results.

Beta-2-microglobulin (b2M) was identified as a causative agent of amyloidosis associated with long-term hemodialysis (HD). Therefore, we examined handling of b2M during a 4-hour hemodialysis session. We compared b2M adsoprtion and diffusive/convective elimination between high-flux membranes such as polysulfone (PS; F 60®, Fresenius), polyacrylonitrile (AN 69; FiltralR, Hospal) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN, PAN 12CX2R, Asahi) and less permeable membranes such as cuprammonium rayon (CR; AM 160 HR, Asahi) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA; BK-1.6 UR, Toray). To calculate total elimination, arterio-venous differences of b2M were measured at 0, 5, 20, 60 and 240 minutes; dialysate concentration was analyzed to evaluate diffusive/convective transport. Differences between recovery in dialysate and total removal were regarded as amount removed by adsorption. Total elimination per 4-hour hemodialysis session and per m2 membrane surface was 154.7 ± 12.3 mg for the PS, 137.8 ± 28.4 mg for the AN 69, 179.8 ± 47.5 mg for the PAN, 130.8 ± 11.8 mg for the PMMA and 14.4 ± 16.0 mg for the CR membrane. Diffusive/convective transport was 128.0 ± 18.1 mg for PS, 54.7 ± 8.1 mg for AN 69 and 106.5 ± 20.8 mg for PAN and insignificant for PMMA and CR. Adsorption was 26.7 ± 4.3 mg for PS, 83.1 ± 29.0 mg for AN 69 and 59.8 ± 17.2 mg for PAN. Besides transmembranous transport sorption is an important mode of elimination. Weekly endogenous generation rate is about twice as high as b2M elimination

In a cross-sectional study X-rays of the forefoot and the pelvis of 101 adult dialysis patients were taken. Vascular calcifications (forefoot) were observed in 20 patients. The incidence was higher in patients who had been started on dialysis several years ago. However, in a longitudinal prospective study de novo appearance of vascular calcificaitons was observed only in 1 out of 50 dialysed patients, although hyperparathyreoidism and moderate hyperphosphatemia persisted. Vascular calcifications were seen only once in 138 uremic children (56 uremic children without dialysis; 82 uremic children on maintenance hemodialysis). However at autopsy visceral calcifications of the lung were found in three (out of 11) children who did not have vascular calcificaitons on X-rays.

The pharmacokinetics of azilocilin, a new wide-spectrum antibiotic of the Nsubstituted group of ureidomethyl penicillins, was investigated in 10 subjects with normal and in 32 subjects with impaired renal functions. After intravenous injection of 2 g of azlocillin, serum concentrations of drug were measured microbiologically. The half-lives of azlocillin wete 47 ± 8.8 min in patients with normal renal function, and 293.3 min in patients with severely impaired renal function.