On the occurrence of renin in the blood of hypertensive patients

Abstract

Renin free of hypertensinase has been extracted from lyophilized plasma by aid of a 40 per cent saturated ammonium sulfate solution. Application of this method to twenty-one patients with hypertension gave seventeen negative, one moderately positive, and three slightly positive results. The moderately positive blood was withdrawn from a patient with acute cardiac decompensation and probably cannot be ascribed to the earlier hypertension. The three slightly positive cases indicate quantities of renin that are much too small to elicit even a minimal pressor effect on intravenous injection.