Re: Diabetes and Potassium?
- From: "Kumar" <lordshiva5753@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 2 Feb 2007 22:12:18 -0800
On Feb 3, 10:10 am, "sherry" <sherryb...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
snip> > ""What are the symptoms of hyperkalemia?
Hyperkalemia can be asymptomatic, meaning that it causes no symptoms.
Sometimes, patients with hyperkalemia report vague symptoms including
nausea, fatigue, muscle weakness, or tingling sensations. More serious
symptoms of hyperkalemia include slow heartbeat and weak pulse. Severe
hyperkalemia can result in fatal cardiac standstill (heart stoppage).
Generally, a slowly rising potassium level (such as with chronic
kidney failure) is better tolerated than an abrupt rise in potassium
levels.
What causes hyperkalemia?
The major causes of hyperkalemia are kidney dysfunction, diseases of
the adrenal gland, potassium sifting out of cells into the blood
circulation, and medications.
Kidney dysfunction
Potassium is normally excreted by the kidneys, so disorders that
decrease the function of the kidneys can result in hyperkalemia. These
include acute and chronic renal failure, glomerulonephritis, lupus
nephritis, transplant rejection, and obstructive diseases of the
urinary tract, such as urolithiasis (stones in the urinary tract).
Furthermore, patients with kidney dysfunctions are especially
sensitive to medications that can increase blood potassium levels. For
example, patients with kidney dysfunctions can develop worsening
hyperkalemia when given salt substitutes that contain potassium, when
given potassium supplements (either orally or intravenously), or
medications that can increase blood potassium levels. Examples of
medications that can increase blood potassium levels include ACE
inhibitors, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), Angiotensin
II Receptor Blockers (ARBs), and potassium sparing diuretics (see
below).
Diseases of the adrenal gland
Adrenal glands are small glands located adjacent to the kidneys, and
are important in secreting hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone.
Aldosterone causes the kidneys to retain sodium and fluid while
excreting potassium in the urine. Therefore diseases of the adrenal
gland that lead to decreased aldosterone secretion can decrease kidney
excretion of potassium, resulting in body retention of potassium, and
hence hyperkalemia.
Potassium shifts
Potassium can move out of and into cells. Our total body potassium
stores are approximately 50 mEq/kg of body weight. At any given time,
about 98% of the total potassium in the body is located inside of
cells (intracellular), with only 2% located outside of cells (in the
blood circulation and in the "extracellular" tissue). The blood tests
for measurement of potassium levels measure only the potassium that is
outside of the cells. Therefore, conditions that can cause potassium
to move out of the cells into the blood circulation can increase the
blood potassium levels even though the total amount of potassium in
the body has not changed.
One example of potassium shift causing hyperkalemia is diabetic
ketoacidosis. Insulin is vital to patients with type 1diabetes.
Without insulin, patients with type 1diabetescan develop severely
elevated blood glucose levels. Lack of insulin also causes the
breakdown of fat cells, with the release of ketones into the blood,
turning the blood acidic (hence the term ketoacidosis). The acidosis
and high glucose levels in the blood work together to cause fluid and
potassium to move out of the cells into the blood circulation.
Patients withdiabetesoften also have diminished kidney capacity to
excrete potassium into urine. The combination of potassium shift out
of cells and diminished urine potassium excretion causes
hyperkalemia.
Another cause of hyperkalemia is tissue destruction, dying cells
release potassium into the blood circulation. Examples of tissue
destruction causing hyperkalemia include trauma, burns, surgery,
hemolysis (disintegration of red blood cells), massive lysis of tumor
cells, and rhabdomyolysis (a condition involving destruction of muscle
cells).
Medications
Potassium supplements, salt substitutes that contain potassium and
other medications can cause hyperkalemia.
In normal individuals, healthy kidneys can adapt to excessive oral
intake of potassium by increasing urine ...
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- Show quoted text -
Dear Kumar
I ran into your message quite accidentally while researching about
some details on ''Diabetes' 'and thought of sharing some of my
findings.
I've read at 'http://www.medical-health-care-information.com/Health-
living/Diabetes/index.asp'
that Diabetes is a set of related diseases in which the body cannot
regulate the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. In diabetes,
glucose in the blood cannot move into cells, and it stays in the
blood. This not only harms the cells that need the glucose for fuel,
but also harms certain organs and tissues exposed to the high glucose
levels.
I hope the above is of some help to you as well. Regards, Sherrybove
Sherry thanks.
But I am trying to find resonings to various happening in diabetes--
why Insulin resistance, why overeating, why opting Sed. lefestyle etc.
.
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