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• Sensory nerve excitability and neuropathy in end stage kidney disease
  Matthew C. Kiernan
  Published on: 16 May 2007
• Improvement in nerve function after dialysis
  Elise F Stanley
  Published on: 8 May 2007

• Published on: 16 May 2007

  Sensory nerve excitability and neuropathy in end stage kidney disease

  • Matthew C. Kiernan, Neurologist
  • Other Contributors:
    • A.V. Krishnan

  Dear Editor,

  The authors thank Dr Stanley for her interest in our manuscript. In contrast to the conventional neurophysiological techniques utilised in Dr Stanley's earlier studies, the more recent studies published in JNNP focused on changes in nerve excitability that occur during dialysis. These changes in excitability appear to link to serum potassium, and provide support for the hypothesis that potassium is a...

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  Dear Editor,

  The authors thank Dr Stanley for her interest in our manuscript. In contrast to the conventional neurophysiological techniques utilised in Dr Stanley's earlier studies, the more recent studies published in JNNP focused on changes in nerve excitability that occur during dialysis. These changes in excitability appear to link to serum potassium, and provide support for the hypothesis that potassium is a uremic neurotoxin.(1)

  In terms of primacy, which was not mentioned in our JNNP paper, the effects of dialysis therapy on peripheral nerve function date as far back as the 1960's. For interested readers, the historical aspects of uraemic neuropathy and details of previous studies are included in a recent review of the area. (2)

  Yours sincerely,

  Matthew Kiernan

  References

  1. Bostock, H, Walters, R.J.L., Andersen, K.V., Taupe, D., Murray, N.M.F. & Kiernan, M.C. (2004). Has potassium been prematurely discarded as a contributing factor to the development of uraemic neuropathy? Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation 19:1054-1057.

  2. Krishnan A.V., Kiernan M.C. (2007). Uremic neuropathy: Clinical features and new pathophysiological insights. Muscle Nerve 35:273-290.

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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• Published on: 8 May 2007

  Improvement in nerve function after dialysis

  • Elise F Stanley, Neuroscientist

  Dear Editor,

  I was pleased to read the report by Krishnan et al on the effect of dialysis on peripheral nerve function. I would, however, like to draw attention to our much earlier (and I believe the first) study on the subject that the authors appear to be unaware of, attributing this finding to their own work. In 1976/7 J.C. (Colin) Brown and I published two reports demonstrating improvement in peripheral ner...

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  Dear Editor,

  I was pleased to read the report by Krishnan et al on the effect of dialysis on peripheral nerve function. I would, however, like to draw attention to our much earlier (and I believe the first) study on the subject that the authors appear to be unaware of, attributing this finding to their own work. In 1976/7 J.C. (Colin) Brown and I published two reports demonstrating improvement in peripheral nerve function with single dialysis treatments in end-stage kidney disease. These were:

  Brown, J.C. and Stanley, E.F. Improvement in peripheral nerve function immediately after haemodialysis. Acta. Neurol. Belg. 76 (1976) 320-324.

  Stanley E, Brown J.C., Pryor J.S. Altered peripheral nerve function resulting from haemodialysis. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 40 (1977) 39-43.

  I thank you for permitting us to clarify the publised record.

  Elise F. Stanley Ph.D.

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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