[Endothelin: preliminary data on its concentration in normal pregnancies and with arterial hypertension]

A peptide of endothelial origin derived from blood vessels named endothelin with vasoactive properties has been recently described. Since pregnancy associated hypertension (pre-eclampsia) is a disease of unknown etiology characterized by glomerular vasospasm and altered venous capacitance we decided to investigate the plasma levels of endothelin contained in patients with preeclampsia and normal pregnancy throughout diverse stages of gestation in order to recognize differences of peptide concentration that could explain the appearance of hypertension. Endothelin was significantly increased in preeclamptic women at term; hence, it is possible that it may play a role in the toxemic syndrome.