Changes in plasma neuropeptide Y,neurotensin levels of patients with essential hypertension and their clinical singnificance

AMI: To observe the changes of plasma neuropeptide Y(NPY) and neurotensin(NT) levels in patients with essential hypertension and to investigate the significance of NPY and NT in the pathogenesis of hypertension and the relationship between NPY and NT and the damage of target organ. METHODS: The plasma NPY and NT concentrations of 80 patients with essential hypertension and 28 normal controls were determined by radioimmunoassay(RIA). RESULTS: The level of NPY in patients of hypertension was higher than that of the normal controls( P 0.05), and the level of NT was significantly lower than that of the normal controls( P 0.01). The NPY and NT levels in the three periods of hypertension (periodⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ) and in the three group divided on cardiac function(degreeⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ) were all significantly different( P 0.01). With the severity of hypertension and heart failure,the NPY level increased, and the NT level decreased. The NPY level of the group with left ventricle hypertrophy(LVH) was significantly higher than that of the group without LVH( P 0.01),and the NT level of the LVH group was significantly lower than that of the group without LVH ( P 0.01). The NPY level of the patients whose endogenous creatinine clearance rate(Ccr) was ≤49 ml/min was higher than the that of the patients with Ccr≥50 ml/min( P 0.01). There was no significant difference in NT level between the two groups( P 0.05).The plasma NPY and NT levels of the patients with essential hypertension were negatively correlated ( r =-0.45, P 0.01). CONCLUSION: NPY and NT may participate in the pathophysiological course of hypertension. They may play a role in the damage of target organ function of the patients with primary hypertension.