Prostaglandins in elderly humans with normal and high arterial pressure

Blood and urine prostaglandin content was studied in normal humans and in arterial hypertension patients aged 25-74 years (by radioimmune method), exploring also hemodynamic indices (by stain dilution method). It was found that with age even in case of normal indices the blood 'humoral pressor potential' tends to rise. In the blood and urine of young and middle-aged patients with essential hypertension in comparison with the healthy persons, the relationships between pressor and depressor classes of prostaglandins underwent still greater changes, with the former rising and the latter declining. In the elderly patients these relationships are modified to a much lesser degree, which probably determines a relatively more benign hemodynamic and clinical course of arterial hypertension in old age (essential hypertension and, particularly, isolated systolic hypertension).