Coexisting independent sodium-sensitive and sodium-insensitive mechanisms of genetic hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

Some essential hypertensive patients and genetic hypertensive rat strains have less than the normal levels of Mg2+ tightly bound to the plasma membranes of their erythrocytes and other cells, i.e., the magnesium binding defect (MgBD).

Brain mercury in neurodegenerative disorders.

Background: Trace element neurotoxicity has long been invoked as an etiologic factor for Alzheimer's disease. This study was conducted to determine the concentrations of mercury in seven different brain regions from deceased patients histologically confirmed with Alzheimer's disease or multiple sclerosis as compared to control subjects without known central nervous system and renal disorders. Brain mercury concentrations in all deceased subjects can arise from amalgam restorations, diet, and the working environment.

Mercury determination in nursing home patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Trace-element neurotoxicity contributing to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) may be an important etiologic factor for this disorder. This clinical study was conducted to determine the urine concentrations of mercury (Hg) from patients with AD disorders. Within the confines of a nursing home, all subjects were exposed to the same environment and a diet that excluded seafood.

Determination of blood mercury concentrations in Alzheimer's patients.

Trace element neurotoxicity can be an etiologic factor for Alzheimer's disease. This cross sectional clinical study determined blood mercury in patients with diagnosed Alzheimer's disease as compared to control subjects without known central nervous system and renal disorders. Unique within the confines of a nursing home, all subjects were exposed to the same environment and consumed a diet without fish and seafood for a period of three months prior to the study.

Alteration of tissue vanadium content in diabetes.

A great deal of interest in the element vanadium has been generated recently because of its potential as a therapeutic agent for diabetes mellitus. Vanadium's insulin-mimetic properties and its requirement for proper growth and development suggest that it may be involved in insulin's mechanism of action. We have therefore examined vanadium levels in kidney, muscle, and liver tissues from normal and diabetic BB Wistar rats.