| Abstrakt: |
TO THE EDITOR:— In the editorial, "The Neurochemistry of Fits" (Oct. 1, 1960), there was no mention of what is to me an important etiology of seizures, i.e., the syndromes associated with hypocalcemia. Their clinical importance is the relatively simple method of establishing a diagnosis from the serum calcium levels, and specific therapy can frequently terminate the seizures. This is especially true of idiopathic or acquired hypoparathyroidism. One serum calcium determination is probably not sufficient, because I have seen a case of seizures secondary to idiopathic hypoparathyroidism remain undiagnosed for seven years because an initial single serum calcium determination was normal. A theory on the role of calcium ions in the excitation of nerve tissue was recently advanced by Adelman and Dalton (J Gen Physiol 43:609, 1960). Studying the effects of calcium ion concentration in the lobster giant axon, they propose that the pore-holes of the membrane are "plugged" by |
