Potassium and Water Distribution in Depression

1966 ◽  
Vol 112 (484) ◽  
pp. 269-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Murray Shaw ◽  
Alec Coppen

The ionic theory of cell excitability shows how impulses are generated, conducted and propagated by movements of ions between the cells and the extracellular fluid. It is known that changes in the concentration of sodium and potassium in either the extracellular water (E.C.W.) or the intracellular water (I.C.W.) may have a marked effect on the resting and action potentials of excitable cells. If affective disorders are manifestations of complex but reversible changes in brain excitability, hen these in turn might be caused by alterations in the concentration of electrolytes within the cells of the central nervous system (C.N.S.). Although it is not possible to measure the distribution of electrolytes specifically in the C.N.S. in man, it is possible to measure their distribution in the body as a whole. In previous papers we have shown that residual sodium (intracellular plus a small quantity of bone sodium) is increased by 50 per cent. in depression (Coppen and Shaw, 1963) and by nearly 200 per cent. in mania (Coppen, Shaw, Malleson and Costain, 1965). The present paper shows that there are also abnormalities in the distribution of potassium, the other main cation determining cell excitability, in patients suffering from severe depression.

1997 ◽  
Vol 82 (10) ◽  
pp. 3349-3355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. J. H. Janssen ◽  
P. Deurenberg ◽  
F. Roelfsema

Abstract Due to the use of various, and mostly indirect, methods to estimate total body water (TBW) and extracellular water (ECW), there is no agreement about whether body water distribution, i.e. the ECW to TBW ratio, is normal in GH-deficient (GHD) subjects at baseline and during recombinant human GH (rhGH) treatment. We studied body water distribution in 14 patients with adult-onset GHD and in 28 healthy controls. We also investigated the effect of GH replacement therapy for 4 and 52 weeks on body water distribution. All patients started with a dose of 0.6 IU rhGH/day for the first 4 weeks. After 52 weeks, the dose varied between 0.6–1.8 IU/day. TBW and ECW were measured by dilution of deuterium and bromide, respectively. Both parameters were also estimated using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance (BIA). Patients with GHD had significantly lower ECW and TBW than healthy controls. In addition, the ECW to TBW ratio was significantly lower in GHD patients than in healthy controls. Four weeks of GH treatment significantly increased body weight, TBW, ECW, and ECW/TBW. A further increase in TBW, but not ECW, was found after 52 weeks of treatment. The mean increases in TBW and ECW from the baselines were 2.5 ± 0.3 and 2.0 ± 0.3 L, respectively. The correlation coefficient and the estimated reliability between measured and estimated TBW and ECW at any time point were all high (>0.91 and >0.95, respectively). In general, both ECW and TBW were overestimated by multifrequency BIA in GHD adults. During treatment, the overestimation of both ECW and TBW diminished. The estimation error was correlated with the level of the body water compartment and the ratio of ECW to TBW. The estimated change in ECW with rhGH treatment was underestimated by multifrequency BIA. We conclude that GHD adults have lower ECW and TBW and a lower ECW to TBW ratio, as measured by dilution techniques. The ECW to TBW ratio can be normalized within 4 weeks of rhGH treatment at a dose of 0.6 IU/day. Finally, we conclude that multifrequency impedance measurements do not give valid estimates of body water compartments in the follow-up of patients with GHD.


1975 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 801-811
Author(s):  
M. V. Thomas ◽  
J. E. Treherne

Simultaneous intracellular and sucrose-gap recordings showed, in contrast to previous findings, that the electrical parameters of giant axons were similar to intact and desheathed connectives bathed with the ‘extracellular Ringer’ of Yamasaki & Narahashi. This implies that the extra-axonal sodium concentration, in situ, is likely to be lower than had been previously supposed. Axonal responses showed that, despite the high blood concentration of 24–2 mM-K+ measured by flame photometry, the effective concentration in the blood was 10–15 mM-K+ which corresponds to the measurements made with potassium-selective electrodes. The activity of the blood potassium ions caused a marked reduction in the amplitude of the action potentials following surgical desheathing or disruption of the blood-brain barrier with hypertonic urea. It is suggested that a regulatory mechanism exists in the central nervous system which counteracts the effects of the high blood potassium level.


1973 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 523-536
Author(s):  
W. R. KAUFMAN ◽  
J. E. PHILLIPS

1. Of the total meal imbibed by female Dermacentor andersoni during the normal adult feeding cycle, about 80% is excreted. Of the total water excreted by the tick, 75% is removed by salivation, less than 3% is evaporated from the integument and spiracles, and the remainder is lost via the anus. 2. Of the total excreted sodium and potassium, 4 and 82% respectively are lost via the anus. The remainder in each case is presumed excreted via the salivary glands. 3. The ionic and osmotic concentrations of the haemolymph and saliva stabilize at constant values by the third or fourth day of feeding. The volume of extracellular fluid is constantly maintained at 23% of the body weight, even though the total body weight increases 75 times over the unfed weight, and the volume of excreted fluid passing through the haemolymph is about ten times the haemolymph volume at repletion.


1969 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-296
Author(s):  
DE FOREST MELLON ◽  
J. E. TREHERNE

1. The concentrations of sodium and potassium ions have been measured in the blood and tissues of the cerebro-visceral connective of the freshwater mussel Anodonta. It is shown that, despite the relatively low concentration of sodium ions in the blood, a concentration gradient of this cation is maintained between the extracellular fluid and the nerve cells because of the extremely low intracellular concentration of this cation. 2. Experiments using 24Na and 22Na have shown that there is relatively rapid exchange of sodium ions between the blood and the central nervous tissues. 3. The efflux of labelled sodium occurred as a two-stage process, in which an initial fast fraction gives way to a slower exponential decline. The results can be accounted for on the assumption that efllux of sodium ions in the fast fraction, at 0° C., represents the cations contained in the extracellular fluid. This assumption implies that there is little regulation of the over-all concentration of sodium ions in the extracellular fluid. 4. The results are discussed in relation to the available evidence on the structure and electrophysiology of the cerebro-visceral connectives.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick J Beaumont

The fluid in the extracellular space around the neurons and glial cells is enclosed within the brain, kept separate from the circulation and the rest of the body-fluid. This brain interstitial fluid forms a distinct compartment; a sponge-like “inverse cell” that surrounds all the cells. During neuronal resting and action potentials, sodium and potassium ions shuttle into, and out of, this “Reciprocal Domain” within the brain. This localised flux of ions is the counterpart to all the neuronal electrochemical activity (having the same intensity and duration, at the same sites in the brain), so a complementary version of all that potential information is integrated into this space within the brain. This flux of cations in the Reciprocal Domain may indirectly influence neuronal activity in the brain, creating immensely complex feedback. This Reciprocal Domain is unified throughout the brain, and exists continuously throughout life. This model identifies which species have such Reciprocal Domains, and how many times similar systems evolved. This account of the Reciprocal Domain of the brain may have clinical implications; it could be vulnerable to disruption by chemical insult, traumatic injury or pathology. These are key characteristics of our core selves; this encourages the idea that this Reciprocal Domain makes a crucial contribution to the brain. This hypothesis is explored and developed here.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick J Beaumont

The fluid in the extracellular space around the neurons and glial cells is enclosed within the brain, kept separate from the circulation and the rest of the body-fluid. This brain interstitial fluid forms a distinct compartment; a sponge-like “inverse cell” that surrounds all the cells. During neuronal resting and action potentials, sodium and potassium ions shuttle into, and out of, this “Reciprocal Domain” within the brain. This localised flux of ions is the counterpart to all the neuronal electrochemical activity (having the same intensity and duration, at the same sites in the brain), so a complementary version of all that potential information is integrated into this space within the brain. This flux of cations in the Reciprocal Domain may indirectly influence neuronal activity in the brain, creating immensely complex feedback. This Reciprocal Domain is unified throughout the brain, and exists continuously throughout life. This model identifies which species have such Reciprocal Domains, and how many times similar systems evolved. This account of the Reciprocal Domain of the brain may have clinical implications; it could be vulnerable to disruption by chemical insult, traumatic injury or pathology. These are key characteristics of our core selves; this encourages the idea that this Reciprocal Domain makes a crucial contribution to the brain. This hypothesis is explored and developed here.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick J Beaumont

The fluid in the extracellular space around the neurons and glial cells is enclosed within the brain, kept separate from the circulation and the rest of the body-fluid. This brain interstitial fluid forms a distinct compartment; a sponge-like “inverse cell” that surrounds all the cells. During neuronal resting and action potentials, sodium and potassium ions shuttle into, and out of, this “Reciprocal Domain” within the brain. This localised flux of ions is the counterpart to all the neuronal electrochemical activity (having the same intensity and duration, at the same sites in the brain), so a complementary version of all that potential information is integrated into this space within the brain. This flux of cations in the Reciprocal Domain may indirectly influence neuronal activity in the brain, creating immensely complex feedback. This Reciprocal Domain is unified throughout the brain, and exists continuously throughout life. This model identifies which species have such Reciprocal Domains, and how many times similar systems evolved. This account of the Reciprocal Domain of the brain may have clinical implications; it could be vulnerable to disruption by chemical insult, traumatic injury or pathology. These are key characteristics of our core selves; this encourages the idea that this Reciprocal Domain makes a crucial contribution to the brain. This hypothesis is explored and developed here.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick J Beaumont

The fluid in the extracellular space around the neurons and glial cells is enclosed within the brain, kept separate from the circulation and the rest of the body-fluid. This brain interstitial fluid forms a distinct compartment; a sponge-like “inverse cell” that surrounds all the cells. During neuronal resting and action potentials, sodium and potassium ions shuttle into, and out of, this “Reciprocal Domain” within the brain. This localised flux of ions is the counterpart to all the neuronal electrochemical activity (having the same intensity and duration, at the same sites in the brain), so a complementary version of all that potential information is integrated into this space within the brain. This flux of cations in the Reciprocal Domain may indirectly influence neuronal activity in the brain, creating immensely complex feedback. This Reciprocal Domain is unified throughout the brain, and exists continuously throughout life. This model identifies which species have such Reciprocal Domains, and how many times similar systems evolved. This account of the Reciprocal Domain of the brain may have clinical implications; it could be vulnerable to disruption by chemical insult, traumatic injury or pathology. These are key characteristics of our core selves; this encourages the idea that this Reciprocal Domain makes a crucial contribution to the brain. This hypothesis is explored and developed here.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Sebastião David Santos-Filho

The contributions of Biophysics scientists measuring aspects of the membrane electricity have been so well thought of that multiple prizes have been given out in this field. The field has generated quantitative findings based on the Goldman field equation and the Nernst equation that provide understanding into the importance of sodium and potassium in cell signaling. The graded and action potentials that bring information in the interior the cell and all over the body are central in the considerations of the brain and the activities of muscle. This work covers the biophysics essential of these process.


1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Deurenberg ◽  
Anna Tagliabue ◽  
Frans J. M. Schouten

The relationship between total body water (TBW) and extracellular water (ECW), measured by deuterium oxide dilution and bromide dilution respectively, and impedance and impedance index (height2/impedance) at 1, 5, 50 and 100 kHz was studied. After correction for TBW, ECW was correlated only with the impedance index at 1 and 5 kHz. After correction for ECW, TBW was best correlated with the impedance index at 100 kHz. The correlation of body-water compartments with impedance values obtained with modelling programs was lower than with measured impedance values. Prediction formulas for ECW (at 1 and 5 kHz) and TBW (at 50 and 100 kHz) were developed. The prediction errors for ECW and TBW were 1·0 and 1·7 kg respectively (coefficient of variation 5%). The residuals of both ECW and TBW were related to the ECW/TBW value. Application of the prediction formulas in a population, independently measured, revealed a slight overestimation of TBW and ECW, which could be largely explained by differences in the validation group in body-water distribution and in body builds. The ratio of impedance at 1 kHz to impedance at 100 kHz was correlated with body-water distribution (ECW/TBW). The relation is however not strong enough to be useful as a predictor. It is concluded that an independent prediction of ECW and TBW, using impedance at low and high frequency respectively, is possible, but that the bias depends on the body-water distribution and body build of the measured subject.


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