2. in psychiatry, an unconscious defense mechanism in which unacceptable ideas, fears, and impulses are thrust out or kept out of consciousness. 3. gene r. enzyme repression interference, usually by the endproduct of a pathway, with synthesis of the enzymes of that pathway. gene repression the inhibition of gene transcription of an operon; in prokaryotes repressor binding to the operon is involved.
Hyperkalemia can result from increased potassium intake, decreased potassium excretion, or a shift of potassium from the intracellular to the extracellular space. The most common causes involve decreased excretion. Alone, excessive intake or an extracellular shift is distinctly uncommon.
In order to maintain the cell membrane potential, cells keep a low concentration of sodium ions and high levels of potassium ions within the cell (intracellular). The sodium-potassium pump mechanism moves 3 sodium ions out and moves 2 potassium ions in, thus, in total, removing one positive charge carrier from the intracellular space.