The effect on perilymph of the alteration of serum glucose or calcium concentration

In the experimentally-induced hyper- or hypoglycemic state, perilymph glucose concentration paralleled the blood concentration, although a delay of about one hour was observed between the time of maximum concentration of glucose in perilymph and its concentration in blood. In hypercalcemia, perilymph calcium concentration steadily increased over a three-hour period, although blood calcium concentration fluctuated during this time. After an initial increase in the CSF calcium concentration, there were insignificant changes during the second and third hours. In animals with thyrocalcitonin-induced hypocalcemia, although blood calcium concentration steadily decreased, its concentration in perilymph and CSF remained practically constant. The present findings suggest that the chemical composition of perilymph can be altered by changing the blood concentration of glucose or calcium. The marked difference of behavior noted between glucose and calcium in these experiments would indicate the existence of different mechanisms for maintaining the homeostatic state for these two substances.