Study on cerebrospinal fluid catecholamines in hypertensive disease

Abstract

Total catecholamines adrenaline (A) and noradrenaline (NA), were determined in twenty-four patients with essential hypertension (EH) (ten men, fourteen women) and sixteen controls (healthy subjects, patients suffering from other diseases, but with normal blood pressure, and patients with secondary hypertension: arteriosclerosis or renal). Blood catecholamines in the controls yielded the following values: 0.84 μg % 0 (M) and 1.35 (W); in EH 0.91 (M) and 1.61 (W); in the CSF of the controls: 4.60 μg % 0 (M) and 5.14 (W); in EH 3.96 (M) and 7.67 (W). Control values were 5.4 (M) and 3.8 times (W) higher in the CSF than in the blood; in EH they were 4.4 (M) and 4.7 (W) higher. In EH in men, NA was 3.6 times higher in the CSF than in the blood, and in the controls 5.5 times higher. A was 5.4 times higher in EH and 4.2 times higher in the controls. Similar values were obtained in women (NA 3.5 as against 4.6 and A 6 as against 2). In EH, CSF A was 55 % (M) and 59 % (W) and in the blood 45 % (M) and 42% (W) of total catecholamines; in the controls A was only 22 % (M) and 23 % (W) in the CSF, as against 38 % (M) and 41 % (W) in the blood.