THE EFFECT OF ISCHAEMIA ON VIBRATION SENSE IN HYPO- OR HYPERCALCAEMIA AND IN DEMYELINATED NERVES

Abstract

Measurements of vibratory perception threshold were performed under ischaemic conditions on 34 occasions in patients with high, normal, or low calcium levels in blood. The results clearly showed that sensory nerves retained their function longer than normal in the hypercalcaemic state and shorter than normal in the hypocalcaemic state. Resistance to ischaemia has previously been found in diabetes, uraemia, and pernicious anaemia and ascribed to the demyelination of nerves found under these conditions. However, a generalized connection between demyelinating disease and resistance to ischaemia could not be verified by investigation of two patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth's disease.