The relation of the natriuretic hormone to essential hypertension

Following the demonstration of a circulating inhibitor of Na+-K+-ATPase in the rat, dog and man, there is now accumulating evidence that the concentration of this inhibitor is increased in patients with essential hypertension:--1. the defect in white cell sodium transport is inversely related to levels of plasma renin activity on a low sodium diet; 2. incubation of leucocytes from normotensive subjects in serum obtained from patients with essential hypertension impairs their ouabain sensitive sodium leucocyte efflux rate constant to the same extent as that found in the leucocytes of hypertensive patients; 3. using a cytochemical technique to measure G6PD activity as a marker of the plasma's ability to inhibit Na+-K+-ATPase it has been found that patients with essential hypertension appear to have an increased concentration of a circulating inhibitor of Na+-K+-ATPase.