動脈硬化と腎臓

Abstract

The kidney is an organ that plays an important role in the cardiovascular system through circulation, metabolism and endocrine function, and it is a matter of course that any abnormality in renal function greatly affects the onset of vascular lesions. However, systemic studies on the mechanism of such influence have been scarce and consequently much remains to be educidated.Concerning the participation of the kidney in the pathogenesis and development of arteriosclerosis, the authors have made the following speculations.1) Since hypertension is considered to participate greatly in the pathogenesis and development of arteriosclerosis, various types of renal hypertension must be important factors of arteriosclerosis.2) Interarenal small arteries and arterioles are susceptible to hypertensive lesions, probably resulting in consequent peripheral circulatory disturbance in the kidney. This is another renal factor in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis.3) Arteriosclerosis is milder in dialyzed cases than in non-dialyzed cases among autopsy cases of chronic gromerulonephritis. This reveals that various renal dysfunctions cause abnormalities of blood and electrolytes and thus participate in the development of arteriosclerosis.4) It is demonstrated that some arteriosclerotic changes could be induced by non-pressor vascular necrotizing fraction of the renal cortical extracts in our series of experiments using rats.