Pseudohyponatraemia, hypercholesterolaemia, and primary biliary cirrhosis.
A 62 year old woman with primary biliary cirrhosis was found to have a plasma sodium concentration of 115 mmol/l. Follow up showed this to be a "pseudohyponatraemia" due to a massively raised serum cholesterol concentration of 78 mmol/l. Electrophoresis of serum lipoproteins and of the lipoproteins and apolipoproteins in fractions isolated on density-gradient ultracentrifugation showed that the major portion of the serum cholesterol was being transported with lipoprotein-X. Low density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentration was also raised. Lipoprotein-X contained, in addition to albumin and apolipoprotein C, apolipoprotein E. This case is of interest because of the degree of hypercholesterolaemia, its association with pseudohyponatraemia, and the unequivocal demonstration of apolipoprotein E associated with lipoprotein-X.
Hickman
P E
PE
Department of Biochemistry, Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia.
Dwyer
K P
KP
Masarei
J R
JR
D001053:Apolipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D007010:Hyponatremia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged
D001053:Apolipoproteins; D008074:Lipoproteins