PMID: 9543227May 30, 1998Paper

Plasma adrenomedullin in cerebrovascular disease: a possible indicator of endothelial injury

International Angiology : a Journal of the International Union of Angiology
K KuwasakoT Eto

Abstract

Cultured vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells actively produce adrenomedullin, a novel vasodilator peptide discovered in human pheochromocytoma tissue. This present study was designed to determine whether the plasma level of adrenomedullin is a useful indicator for estimating the degree of endothelial injury in patients with atherosclerotic disease. We used a radioimmunoassay to measure plasma adrenomedullin concentrations in 51 patients with chronic cerebrovascular disease (34 infarctions and 17 haemorrhages) and in 10 subjects without symptomatic cerebrovascular disease. We also measured the plasma concentrations of thrombomodulin and endothelin as markers of endothelial injury. The patients were divided into three groups (A, B, and C) on the basis of the number of risk factors for atherosclerosis: hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, low HDL-cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, and hyperuricaemia. Group A (68.7+/-2.7 years) consisted of patients with 0 or 1 risk factors; B (68.3+/-4.2 years) those with 2 risk factors; and C (69.2+/-3.6 years) those with 3 or more risk factors. The plasma concentration of adrenomedullin in these patients showed a significant positive correlation with age (r=0.33, p<0.05), as well as with...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Carotid Artery Diseases

Carotid artery disease is a group of pathological conditions of the carotid artery. Discover the latest research on carotid artery disease here.

Antihypertensive Agents: Mechanisms of Action

Antihypertensive drugs are used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) which aims to prevent the complications of high blood pressure, such as stroke and myocardial infarction. Discover the latest research on antihypertensive drugs and their mechanism of action here.

Brain Ischemia

Brain ischemia is a condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain to meet metabolic demand. Discover the latest research on brain ischemia here.