PubMed1982
The role played by renal prostaglandin E2 in the maintenance of hypertension in chronic renal disease has been investigated through studying the response of body weight, blood pressure, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), 24-hour natriuresis, plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma aldosterone and urinary PGE2 excretion to the administration of indomethacin (2mg/kg daily, during 3 days). A group of 37 patients diagnosed as having chronic renal parenchymatous disease with creatinine clearance above 25 ml/min was included in the study. 21 of them were hypertensive (BP greater than 160/95). 27 normotensive volunteers were also studied and considered as the control group. The initial study disclosed similar levels of PGE2, PRA and plasma aldosterone in volunteers, normotensive patients and hypertensive patients, although the sodium intake was lower in the last two groups. A positive correlation between PRA and urinary PGE2 was found both in normotensive (r = 0.507, p less than 0.01) and in hypertensive patients (r = 0.609, p less than 0.01). The administration of indomethacin induced a diminution of PRA, plasma aldosterone and urinary PGE2 levels together with an increase in diastolic blood pressure (p less than 0.05-0.01) in both volunteers and patients. The remaining parameters measured did not change in volunteers or in normotensive patients. On the contrary, in hypertensive patients, during indomethacin administration, lower values of creatinine clearance (p less than 0.005) and 24-hour natriuresis (p less than 0.05) together with an increase in body weight (p less than 0.01) were observed. These results point to the existence of a protective role of renal prostaglandin E2 upon renal function when hypertension appears in the course of chronic renal parenchymatous disease.