The renin angiotensin aldosterone system and pregnancy

1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Broughton Pipkin

Given the phylogenic antiquity of the renin angiotensin system (RAS) and the high degree of renin gene sequence conservation between species, it is perhaps not surprising that the RAS should be central to cardiovascular homeostasis. Nor, given the common embryological origin of the kidneys and reproductive tracts, is it especially surprising that the system should be influenced by, and may itself influence, the state of pregnancy. In this review I shall attempt to give an outline of the workings of the system in normal and in hypertensive pregnancy. The RAS is now known to be involved in spheres far beyond the ‘simple’ control of sodium and water homeostasis, and hence of blood pressure. Its roles in reproduction and in fetal life in animals have been very recently reviewed; this review will therefore confine itself to human studies unless otherwise stated.

Hypertension ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niamh Moore ◽  
Patrick Dicker ◽  
John K. O’Brien ◽  
Milos Stojanovic ◽  
Ronán M. Conroy ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1338-1344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Boccara ◽  
Alexandre Ouattara ◽  
Gilles Godet ◽  
Eric Dufresne ◽  
Michèle Bertrand ◽  
...  

Background Terlipressin, a precursor that is metabolized to lysine-vasopressin, has been proposed as a drug for treatment of intraoperative arterial hypotension refractory to ephedrine in patients who have received long-term treatment with renin-angiotensin system inhibitors. The authors compared the effectiveness of terlipressin and norepinephrine to correct hypotension in these patients. Methods Among 42 patients scheduled for elective carotid endarterectomy, 20 had arterial hypotension following general anesthesia that was refractory to ephedrine. These patients were the basis of the study. After randomization, they received either 1 mg intravenous terlipressin (n = 10) or norepinephrine infusion (n = 10). Beat-by-beat recordings of systolic arterial blood pressure and heart rate were stored on a computer. The intraoperative maximum and minimum values of blood pressure and heart rate, and the time spent with systolic arterial blood pressure below 90 mmHg and above 160 mmHg, were used as indices of hemodynamic stability. Data are expressed as median (95% confidence interval). Results Terlipressin and norepinephrine corrected arterial hypotension in all cases. However, time spent with systolic arterial blood pressure below 90 mmHg was less in the terlipressin group (0 s [0-120 s] vs. 510 s [120-1011 s]; P < 0.001). Nonresponse to treatment (defined as three boluses of terlipressin or three changes in norepinephrine infusion) occurred in zero and eight cases (P < 0.05), respectively. Conclusions In patients who received long-term treatment with renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, intraoperative refractory arterial hypotension was corrected with both terlipressin and norepinephrine. However, terlipressin was more rapidly effective for maintaining normal systolic arterial blood pressure during general anesthesia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (3) ◽  
pp. R313-R320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Curt D. Sigmund

The purpose of this review is two-fold. First, I will highlight recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms regulating angiotensin II (ANG II) synthesis in the brain, focusing on evidence that renin is expressed in the brain and is expressed in two forms: a secreted form, which may catalyze extracellular ANG I generation from glial or neuronal angiotensinogen (AGT), and an intracellular form, which may generate intracellular ANG in neurons that may act as a neurotransmitter. Second, I will discuss recent studies that advance the concept that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the brain not only is a potent regulator of blood pressure and fluid intake but may also regulate metabolism. The efferent pathways regulating the blood pressure/dipsogenic effects and the metabolic effects of elevated central RAS activity appear different, with the former being dependent upon the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the latter being dependent upon an interaction between the brain and the systemic (or adipose) RAS.


1979 ◽  
Vol 236 (3) ◽  
pp. H409-H416 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Shibota ◽  
A. Nagaoka ◽  
A. Shino ◽  
T. Fujita

The development of malignant hypertension was studied in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) kept on 1% NaCl as drinking water. Along with salt-loading, blood pressure gradually increased and reached a severe hypertensive level (greater than 230 mmHg), which was followed by increases in urinary protein (greater than 100 (mg/250 g body wt)/day) and plasma renin concentration (PRC, from 18.9 +/- 0.1 to 51.2 +/- 19.4 (ng/ml)/h, mean +/- SD). At this stage, renal small arteries and arterioles showed severe sclerosis and fibrinoid necrosis. Stroke was observed within a week after the onset of these renal abnormalities. The dose of exogenous angiotensin II (AII) producing 30 mmHg rise in blood pressure increased with the elevation of PRC, from 22 +/- 12 to 75 +/- 36 ng/kg, which was comparable to that in rats on water. The fall of blood pressure due to an AII inhibitor, [1-sarcosine, 8-alanine]AII (10(microgram/kg)/min for 40 min) became more prominent with the increase in PRC in salt-loaded rats, but was not detected in rats on water. These findings suggest that the activation of renin-angiotensin system participates in malignant hypertension of salt-loaded stroke-prone SHR rats that show stroke signs, proteinuria, hyperreninemia, and renovascular changes.


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