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Biomedical subjects

Daniel I Feig

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel I Feig.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

A unifying pathway for essential hypertension.

We present the hypothesis that most cases of essential hypertension occur via two phases. The first phase is initiated by episodes of renal vasoconstriction induced by a hyperactive sympathetic nervous system, activation of the renin-angiotensin system, or hyperuricemia resulting from diet or genetics. During this phase the hypertension is salt resistant and renin dependent, and the kidney normal. Over time, preglomerular vascular disease develops (arteriolosclerosis), associated with tubulointerstitial inflammation; this shifts the hypertension to a salt-sensitive, volume-dependent, and renal-dependent pathway. This pathway unites many of the previous hypotheses on the etiology of hypertension, and offers insights into ways to prevent, ameliorate, or cure the underlying process.

Animals↗

Uric acid and hypertension in adolescents.

Hypertension is the most common form of cardiovascular disease. Although it is less common in adolescents than in adults, hypertension and the associated organ damage can and often does begin early in life. Consequently, for many with high blood pressure (BP), measures directed at the long-term prevention of cardiovascular morbidity may need to be started in adolescence to achieve maximal effectiveness. This article discusses some of the problems unique to hypertension in the young, as well as recent discoveries regarding the likely role played by increases in serum uric acid level in the development of adolescent-onset essential hypertension.

Adolescent↗

Does asymptomatic hyperuricaemia contribute to the development of renal and cardiovascular disease? An old controversy renewed.

Recent studies in both humans and experimental animals have led to renewed interest in uric acid and its association with hypertension, cardiovascular events and renal disease progression. This has also refuelled a longstanding debate regarding the precise role of this ubiquitous breakdown product of purine metabolism in these disease processes. Various lines of evidence suggest that uric acid may have a direct role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and vascular disease. Regardless of this possibility, it is apparent that serum uric acid levels serve as a powerful 'biomarker' or independent predictor of prognosis and outcome in certain renal, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Whether these outcomes can be improved by specifically treating asymptomatic hyperuricaemia remains inadequately resolved at this stage. Data from various animal studies suggests that lowering uric acid levels may be of benefit, but the crucial human studies are still lacking. This review will examine some of the recent evidence supporting a causal and contributory role for uric acid in cardiovascular and renal disease. How clarification of the role of uric acid may guide future treatment strategies will also be discussed.

Animals↗

Hypothesis: Uric acid, nephron number, and the pathogenesis of essential hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Essential hypertension affects more than 25% of the world's population. Genetic, physiologic, and epidemiologic studies provide clues to its origins, but a clear understanding has been elusive. Recent experimental and clinical studies have implicated uric acid in the onset of essential hypertension. METHODS: In a retrospective chart review, we identified 95 children with confirmed, new onset hypertension, and evaluated the cause of hypertension and parental history of hypertension, birth weight, and serum uric acid. In an open-label, cross-over trial we treated 5 children with confirmed essential hypertension with allopurinol as single treatment agent, and screened for change in blood pressure by casual and ambulatory methods. In tissue culture experiments, we evaluated the effect of uric acid on glomerular endothelial cell function. RESULTS: Elevation of serum uric acid is related to the onset of essential hypertension in children, reduced birth weight, and endothelial dysfunction. Normalization of uric acid appears to ameliorate new onset essential hypertension. CONCLUSION: These findings, combined with animal model data, support the hypothesis that uric acid has a key role in the pathogenesis of early onset essential hypertension, and may unify some of the disparate theories of the origins of essential hypertension.

Animals↗

Management of a severe carbamazepine overdose using albumin-enhanced continuous venovenous hemodialysis.

Carbamazepine intoxication is common in the pediatric population. Highly protein-bound, carbamazepine is not removed efficiently through conventional hemodialysis. We describe the use of albumin-enhanced continuous venovenous hemodialysis (CVVHD) in a 10-year-old girl who developed coma and respiratory depression due to an intentional carbamazepine overdose (peak drug level of 44.8 microg/ml; therapeutic range: 8-12 microg/ml). Without intervention, the half-life of drug elimination is 25 to 60 hours in patients who are naive to carbamazepine and 12 to 20 hours in children on chronic carbamazepine therapy. In contrast, with albumin-enhanced CVVHD, we observed a half-life of 7 to 8 hours. The patient recovered rapidly and was discharged from hospital <4 days from the time of ingestion with no complications or neurologic impairment. Because the cost-benefit analysis was also favorable relative to other therapeutic options, albumin-enhanced CVVHD may be the optimal treatment of toxic-level ingestion of carbamazepine.

Anticonvulsants↗

Hyperuricemia in childhood primary hypertension.

Experimental animal models suggest that uric acid might have a pathogenic role in the early development of primary hypertension. We hypothesized that serum uric acid is correlated with blood pressure in children with new-onset, untreated, primary hypertension. We evaluated 125 consecutive children referred to the Baylor Pediatric Renal Program for evaluation of hypertension. None of the subjects had previously been evaluated or treated for hypertension. The children ranged in age from 6 to 18 years (mean, 13.4+/-3.3) and had normal renal function (creatinine clearance >80 mL x min(-1) x 1.73 m(-2)). Sixty-three children had primary hypertension, 40 had secondary hypertension, and 22 had white-coat hypertension. Forty controls with normal blood pressure were recruited from the renal clinic. Uric acid levels were directly correlated with systolic (r=0.80, P=0.0002) and diastolic (r=0.66, P=0.0006) blood pressure in controls and in subjects with primary hypertension and were independent of renal function. Serum uric acid concentrations >5.5 mg/dL were found in 89% of subjects with primary hypertension, in 30% with secondary hypertension, in 0% with white-coat hypertension, and in 0% of controls. We conclude that serum uric acid is directly correlated with blood pressure in untreated children and that a serum uric acid value >5.5 mg/dL in an adolescent being evaluated for hypertension strongly suggests primary hypertension as opposed to white-coat or secondary hypertension. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that uric acid might have a role in the early pathogenesis of primary hypertension.

Adolescent↗