[Changes in acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase in blood during pulmonary hypertension]

Two models of pulmonary hypertension in rats have been made with either monocrotaline or passive smoking (with or without infection). The decrease of RBC acetylcholinesterase activity and the increase of acetylcholine content in blood were detected in both rat models, but did not in rats which were only once infected by E. Coli, and the pulmonary pressure of the latter did not raise either. Comparing 30 cases of acute attack period of chronic pulmonary heart disease with 30 cases of normal persons, RBC acetylcholinesterase decreased significantly, indicating that hyperfunction of cholinergic nerve existed in pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary heart disease.