Abstract
A HYPOCALCAEMIA induced by heparin has been the subject of several recent publications. In 1961 Heidland et al.1 showed that a single intravenous injection of heparin elicited a significant lowering of serum calcium in dogs and they attributed this effect to the formation of a heparin–calcium complex in the serum. Goldsmith and Parry2 also demonstrated heparin-induced hypocalcaemia in rabbits, and to a lesser extent in rats. The following mechanism for the phenomenon was suggested: heparin activates lipoprotein lipase with a resulting release of free fatty acids and subsequent formation of their insoluble calcium salts.
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References
Heidland, A., Klutsch, K., and Hochrein, H., Klin. Wschr., 39, 51 (1961).
Goldsmith, M. W., and Parry, D. J., Nature, 210, 1286 (1966).
Mager, M., and Farese, G., Clin. Chem., 12, 234 (1966).
Kerr, J. R. W., Analyst, 85, 867 (1960).
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BONILLA, C., STRINGHAM, R. & LYTLE, I. Effect of Heparin on Serum Calcium Concentrations in Mice. Nature 217, 1281–1282 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2171281a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2171281a0
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