[Improvement of the pre-hypertensive inherited cardiac dearangements with phenylalanine in essential hypertension].
OBJECTIVE: To assess whether phenylalanine intervention can effectively improve the pre-hypertensive inherited cardiac hypertrophy and systolic dysfunction in young offsprings of patients with essential hypertension (ER). METHODS: Ninty-six normotensive adolescents with hypertensive family history and associated with inherited cardiac hypertrophy, i.e, interventricular, septum (IVST) and (or) left ventricular post wall thickness (PWT) > or = 10.5 mm, were screened according to the normal range criteria of ultrasonic-cardiogram (UCG) obtained previously from 50 normotensive adolescents without hypertensive genetic predisposition. The UCG parameters before and after 3, 6, 9 months of observation were compared between intervention group (Phe 1 g/d 58 subjects) and placebo-control group (placebo 1 g/d, 38 subjects) in 2 separate trials by a double-blind, randomized, cross-over and comparable placebo-control design. RESULTS: The hypertrophy and dilatation of ascending aorta and left heart structure were regressed after intervention, i.g, the changes after 9 months intervention, IVST dropped from 10.9 +/- 1.2 to 9.2 +/- 0.6 mm, PWT from 9.5 +/- 1.0 to 8.6 +/- 0.6 mm, left ventricular mass index from 92 +/- 15 to 70 +/- 11 g/m2; All of the parameters reflecting the systolic function of left ventricle were improved in pooled group of 2 trials. The UCGs after placebo was fundamentally not changed except some sporadic values. The results were similar in 2 separate trials. The improvement after Phe and its return towards that of pre-intervention after stope were remarked at 6 months. CONCLUSION: The inherited cardiac dearrangement seen in adolescents with hypertensive genetic predisposition can be assumed to be the pre-hypertensive changes of EH. It can be reversed by phenylalanine--a natural and essential amino-acid.