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Biomedical subjects

P F Speckart

Publications and source records attributed to P F Speckart.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Prostaglandins: modulators of renal function and pressor resistance in chronic liver disease.

Prostaglandins may modulate renal function and play a role in the hyperreninism and angiotensin pressor resistance of chronic liver disease. To study this possibility, we evaluated 12 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and ascites. Urine immunoassayable prostaglandin E in 5 female patients was 3.3 +/- 0.5 micrograms/day [normal, 0.3 +/- 0.1 (SE)], renin was 14.6 +/- 3.7 ng/ml.h, and aldosterone was 76 +/- 19 ng/dl. After either indomethacin (200 mg) or ibuprofen (2000 mg) for 1 day, urine immunoassayable prostaglandin E fell to 0.8 +/- 0.4 micrograms/day, renin to 8.0 +/- 2.4 ng/mol.h, and aldosterone to 54 +/- 14 ng/dl (all P less than 0.01). Pressor sensitivity increased dramatically, and creatinine clearance transiently fell from 73 +/- 10 to 32 +/- 7 cc/min (P less than 0.01). Because a primary effect on renin might explain the renal impairment, an additional study used propranolol to lower renin activity. Renal function was unaltered by propranolol. We conclude that prostaglandins play a supportive role in maintaining renal function and are involved in the hyperreninism and pressor resistance of patients with liver disease.

Adult↗

Release of immunoassayable prostaglandin E by the human ischemic kidney.

Immunoassayable prostaglandin E concentration in renal venous plasma was measured in eight patients with renovascular hypertension. Two subjects with bilateral renal artery stenosis had similar concentrations from both renal veins. The six subjects with unilateral artery stenosis had greater concentration on the stenotic side in each case, suggesting that the human ischemic kidney produces increased amounts of prostaglandins.

Humans↗

The effect of prostaglandin A1 on renin and aldosterone in man.

Blood pressure, pulse rate, plasma aldosterone (PA), renin, and cortisol were monitored during graded intravenous infusions of prostaglandin At (PGA)1), 0.075-0.6 mug/kg min-1, alone and superimposed on angiotensin II (A II) administration in five normal men. The infusions of PGA1 did not affect blood pressure, but did progressively increase the pulse rate up to 15.2 +/- 2.0 (SEM- beats/min at the highest prostaglandin dose (0.6 mug/kg min-1). Both PA and plasma renin activity (PRA) increased in a dose-related fashion in response to the prostaglandin infusions. Aldosterone increased from a control of 4.8 +/- 0.4 to 20.7 +/- 1.2 ng and PRA increased from 0.9 +/- 0.1 to 5.4 +/- 0.4 ng/ml hr-1 at the dose of 0.6 mug/kg min-1. The correlation between the aldosterone and renin values was r = 0.85 P less than 0.001. In separate experiments, acute volume expansion with 2 liters of saline did not affect the increase in renin activity induced by exogenous prostaglandin. A II (5 ng/kg min-1) increased aldosterone and blood pressure and decreased the pulse rate. The hemodynamic effects were progressively reversed by the superimposed prostaglandin infusions, but the observed changes in renin and aldosterone concentrations were not further altered. The PA response to A II infusions was not influenced by indomethacin pretreatment. Prostaglandin A (infusion) appears to have a direct effect on renin release in man.

Adult↗

The effect of ACTH and cortisol on aldosterone and cortisol clearance and distribution in plasma and whole blood.

The mechanisms of increased aldosterone and cortisol metabolic clearance rates (MCR) following ACTH or cortisol administration were studied in 13 subjects undergoing cardiac catheterization and in 9 healthy controls. In control subjects, the MCR (plasma) of both steroids increased by 29% (aldosterone: from 936 +/- 57 to 1204 +/- 55 l/day/m2, cortisol: from 205 +/- 12 to 264 +/- 17 l/day/m2 +/- SE) after ACTH (12 units/h) for 1 to 4 h, and by 20 and 32%, respectively, after cortisol (12 mg/h) for 1 to 2 h. In contrast, aldosterone MCR (whole blood) did not change with ACTH or cortisol administration (from 1276 +/- 57 to 1330 +/- 59 l/day/m2), indicating that the plasma MCR increase results from a redistribution of aldosterone from plasma to red cells. Aldosterone splanchnic extraction was 92 +/- 1% (n = 12) with normal morning cortisol levels, and extraction was unchanged after ACTH administration. For cortisol, however, the splanchnic extraction increased from 8 +/- 0.8% to 17.8 +/- 5.0%, and the MCR (whole blood) likewise increased by 15 to 31% (from 295 +/- 23 to 357 +/- 30 l/day/m2), after ACTH or cortisol administration. In vivo and in vitro measurements (at 37 C) of tracer aldosterone concentration in plasma and in red cells showed an increase in distribution to red cells with increasing cortisol concentrations. The results suggest that a fraction of aldosterone is bound in plasma and displaced by cortisol into red cells. There is an increased aldosterone plasma MCR, but unaltered whole blood MCR, since the liver extracts aldosterone almost completely from both plasma and red cells. The increase in cortisol MCR (plasma) results from both an increased splanchnic extraction as plasma binding sites approach saturation and a redistribution into red cells.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗