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SERUM NITRIC OXIDE METABOLITE (NO X ) LEVELS IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS AT REST: A COMPARISON OF AGE, GENDER, BLOOD PRESSURE AND COMPLICATIONS USING NORMOTENSIVE CONTROLS
Author(s) -
Higashino Hideaki,
Miya Hirohisa,
Mukai Hidenori,
Miya Yoshihisa
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1440-1681
pISSN - 0305-1870
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1681.2007.04617.x
Subject(s) - medicine , blood pressure , nitric oxide , endocrinology , diabetes mellitus , pathophysiology , endothelial dysfunction , metabolite , ageing , nitrite , nitrate , ecology , biology
SUMMARY1 Hypertensive patients have pathophysiological changes such as atherosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction and inflammations. The patients’ serum nitric oxide metabolite (nitrate/nitrite; NO x ) levels were measured in peripheral blood using normotensive controls for comparison. 2 The NO x levels in 175 hypertensive patients with or without comorbid diseases (aged 37–95 years; average 50.6 ± 0.8 years) were compared with those in 80 normotensive controls (aged 25–73 years; average 37.1 ± 1.8 years). 3 The NO x levels increased with age in both the normotensive and hypertensive women, but not in men. No difference was noted in the NO x levels between the normotensive and hypertensive patients without comorbid diseases. The mean value of NO x in male hypertensive patients aged under 50 years was close to that of female patients aged 51–60 years. Hypertensive males aged 61–70 years showed almost the same NO x levels as those of female patients aged over 81 years. A male group of hypertensive patients with diabetes, hyperlipaemia and renal disorder had a significantly higher NO x level compared with a normotensive control group. However, in female groups, only hypertensive patients with hyperlipaemia showed higher serum NO x values compared with the normotensive group. 4 These findings suggest that: (i) the occurrence of NO x in the serum is not solely the outcome of high blood pressure; (ii) higher serum NO x levels in older women are because of an oestrogen deficiency‐induced cardiovascular disease; (iii) ageing effects on the circulation system are more apparent in men than in women; and (iv) measurement of NO x levels in the serum is helpful for understanding the pathological progress in male hypertensive patients with diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hyperlipaemia and renal disorder.