Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0085580 (essential hypertension)
 14,686 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

ANF is a newly discovered peptide hormone that has significant implications for critical care physicians. This hormone, released from the heart, is especially responsive to fluid challenges as well as to many of the drugs commonly used in the ICU, including pressor and anesthetic agents. It has potent arterial vasodilating effects in pharmacologic doses and may be an important natural vasodilating agent, especially in the renal vascular bed. In patients on dopamine, it may potentiate the renal vasodilating effect and may provide an effective therapy for developing acute renal failure. Children with congenital heart disease and patients with CHF have elevated levels that clearly alter the aldosterone-angiotensin II system and may help us to understand and treat these conditions more effectively. Additionally, ANF may be a marker for adequacy of treatment in these disease states. The potential uses for ANF include diuresis in patients with fluid overload and diuretic resistance, treatment of CHF, and as a short-acting vasodilator. In the ICU, many therapies affect cardiac pressures and volume regulation. Positive-pressure ventilation may decrease the release of ANF by decreasing venous return and thus contribute to water retention. Drugs used in the ICU may directly affect ANF levels and markedly affect the homeostasis of fluid and electrolyte balance. This hormone system interacts intimately with renin, angiotensin II, and aldosterone. These interactions may play a significant role in the development of essential hypertension. Although not addressed in this article, the treatment and understanding of essential hypertension may be significantly advanced by understanding these relationships. It is clear that ANF acts as a hormone with complex interactions between the heart, volume status, electrolyte balance, renin-angiotensin II-aldosterone, vasopressin, and vascular tone. Although currently no definitive picture exists for these complex interactions, this is an exciting new hormone with significant implications for patient management in the ICU. As research continues, the picture will become clearer and our understanding of this new hormone more precise.
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PMID:Atrial natriuretic factor in the pediatric intensive care unit. 297 48

The discovery of an endocrine activity of the heart in 1981 was fundamental in order to understand the regulation of the effective circulatory volume. Indeed, the hormone which is secreted by the atrial cells (ANF) when these are distended suddenly in the presence of an enhanced preload of the heart, acts very rapidly upon the kidneys and the vasomotor tone. Its action restores without delay the effective circulatory volume following the renal elimination of an appropriate fraction of salt and water and attenuates the pressor effects of the increased intravascular volume. In this regard, the hormone is an emergency mediator. ANF may also be a long-term regulator of salt and water homeostasis by modulating the renal excretion of sodium. Finally, its role in pathological conditions such as congestive heart failure or essential hypertension remains to be elucidated. Nevertheless, interesting therapeutic perspectives may be considered, based on the unusual inactivation of ANF by clearance receptors.
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PMID:[Atrial natriuretic factor and water-sodium homeostasis: concepts and perspectives]. 779 47

Due to its physiological and pharmacological action ANF could be an ideal diuretic and vasorelaxation product in the treatment of oedema and essential hypertension. Experimental and clinical investigations in oedematous conditions revealed a very slight diuretic and natriuretic effect of ANF, as compared with healthy subjects. This is due to the reduced renal perfusion pressure, the increased RAAS activity, enzymatic degradation of ANF by endopeptidase and also its inactivation via C-receptors. Moreover the use of ANF is very limited due to its short half-life and peptide structure. In recent years therefore new possibilities are sought how to influence the metabolism of endogenous ANF and thus increase its activity. Neutral endopeptidase inhibitors (NEP) inhibit ANF degradation, increase thus its plasma level and in cardiac weakntlakess have a marked diuretic and natriuretic effect. The administration of NEP inhibitors in patients with essential hypertension did not reveal so far an adequate effect on blood pressure. Inhibitors of C-receptors potentiate also the effect of endogenous ANF. In experiments they enhance Na excretion and lead to a drop of blood pressure. Recently another natriuretic peptide was detected--urodilatine. In experimental and clinical studies in cardiac failure urodilatine administration leads to an increase of diuresis and natriuresis greater than after ANF. Haemodynamic effects after urodilatine are also greater than after ANF whereby urodilatine does not cause reflex tachycardia and is resistant to peptidase degradation. Its therapeutic administration is a new perspective in the treatment of oedematous conditions and essential hypertension.
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PMID:[Use of natriuretic peptides in clinical practice]. 818 76

The main task in hypertension research is to explain genetic causes of a raised blood pressure. It is anticipated that advances in this area will promote not only a better understanding of the pathophysiology of hypertension but will make a more aimed approach to early diagnosis, prevention and therapy of essential hypertension possible. The greatest problems in investigations of the heredity of hypertension are; a) in cardiovascular control mechanisms several genes participate; b) factors of the external environment which act on a long-term basis interfere with the relationship of the genotype and phenotype individually, within the family and regionally; c) the blood pressure is a continuous variable and the definition of the phenotype of hypertension is inaccurate; d) inadequate number of family members where hypertension segregates. New methods in molecular biology and statistical genetics made it possible to assess a number of highly polymorphous genetic signs in several candidate genes and the subsequent investigation of their possible role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The majority of hitherto accomplished studies was concentrated on genes coding different components of the renin-angiotensin system: renin, ACE, angiotensinogen and angiotensin II receptors. So far the most promising, though not consistent, results were obtained for angiotensinogen and the insulin receptor. Work focused on the relationship of the polymorphism of genes for ANF, growth hormone and kallikrein to essential hypertension is negative. The genetic heterogeneity of the human population, physiological differences in the genesis of high blood pressure in different ethnical groups and inaccurate measurements of specific phenotypes can contribute to different results of different studies.
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PMID:[Molecular genetics methods in the study of hereditary essential hypertension]. 951 Dec 64


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