THE USE OF ANTIPYRINE IN THE MEASUREMENT OF TOTAL BODY WATER IN MAN

Distribution of 4-Iodoantipyrine After Intravenous Injection in the Rat

The distribution of 4-iodoantipyrine does not parallel that of body water, as evidenced by its overaccumulation in some organs and underaccumulation in others. These disparities occur largely because I 131 is lost from the iodoantipyrine molecule, is converted to iodide, and is distributed and excreted as such. Any similarity between the distribution volume of iodoantipyrine and total body water is, therefore, happenstance.

The Persistence of High Body Sodium in Previously Edematous Patients with Heart Disease

Measurements of total body water and total exchangeable sodium were made in patients with heart disease rendered free of edema following congestive heart failure.

The total exchangeable sodium in most of the patients was higher than would have been predicted on the basis of their body weight and total body water. Serial measurements showed that some patients gradually lose their excess sodium over a period of months without a loss of body water; others maintain an elevated ratio of body sodium to body weight and body sodium to body water for periods of at least several months.

The data imply the possibility of significant quantities of osmotically inactive sodium in patients with heart disease.

SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS IN BLOOD VOLUME

The plasma volume was measured by T1824 dilution in groups of normal young male subjects at regular intervals over the course of 3 years. The plasma volume increased during the summer and decreased during the winter, but this change was variable from subject to subject and was not as marked during 1 year as during the other 2. Ascorbic acid in daily supplement of 400 mg., taken during the first year of the study, did not influence the plasma volume fluctuations. The red blood cell mass, circulating haemoglobin, and total circulating plasma protein varied in the same way and the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration also increased during the summer in 2 of the 3 years. The changes in plasma volume are attributed to the influence of environmental temperature and indicate some degree of seasonal acclimatization. Serial measurements of total body water and extracellular space on a few subjects suggest that the seasonal fluctuation affects mainly the vascular system.

SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS IN BLOOD VOLUME

The plasma volume was measured by T1824 dilution in groups of normal young male subjects at regular intervals over the course of 3 years. The plasma volume increased during the summer and decreased during the winter, but this change was variable from subject to subject and was not as marked during 1 year as during the other 2. Ascorbic acid in daily supplement of 400 mg., taken during the first year of the study, did not influence the plasma volume fluctuations. The red blood cell mass, circulating haemoglobin, and total circulating plasma protein varied in the same way and the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration also increased during the summer in 2 of the 3 years. The changes in plasma volume are attributed to the influence of environmental temperature and indicate some degree of seasonal acclimatization. Serial measurements of total body water and extracellular space on a few subjects suggest that the seasonal fluctuation affects mainly the vascular system.